Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise

Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise - isn't that one of those rare titles for a movie that you just have to ponder over for a little while, like Duck You Sucker! or Pillow of Death? If the movie doesn't quite live up to the its title like 'Sucker' did or 'Pillow' definitely did not, then it's to director Danny Boyle's credit that he keeps it moving fast and maniacally but with his own kind of sensitivity to the characters that doesn't make us see them as too pathetic or too "out-there" to care. He also films this story of a wannabe DJ working as a vacuum salesman (Michael Begley), paired as a rookie with the veteran/hard-bitten and ranting and raving man (Timothy Spall) who could definitely tangle with Alec Baldwin in Glegarry Glen Ross to see who wins out in selling something to a reluctant or just not-there customer, like it's a movie on the run for $100.

In a way that makes it an amazingly brash affair in a good way; we see these guys in their car or Spall making a sale or just Begley at home freaking out when his girlfriend leaves him as if it's all candid or on the run. He shoots with several little cameras in a car or shoots with a dirty filter in a dance hall, and if one has seen Slumdog Millionaire or 28 Days Later you may notice a similar lucid insanity (if that makes sense) of style. In another way it can be distracting to the actual plot, or whatever of it there is, but he thankfully allows his actors to take over much of the control throughout.

While Begley, a British TV actor I've never seen before and may not see again, was very good in that fresh-faced "what-is-this-world" perspective (with a breathless freak-out after finding a dead body that is priceless), it's Timothy Spall's show. An actor who's been in plenty of Mike Leigh films and some big blockbusters like Harry Potter, Spall imbues his character with purpose and drive and a deliberate knack for getting people with him killed while driving, playing outrageously simply and funny motivation tapes with hardcore music and "Sell! Sell! F***ing Sell!" blasting away, and acting totally out of control but devilishly in control at the same time. It's remarkable work considering it's just a TV movie, but any moment he's on screen, especially those last moments that (un)intentionally echo La Strada, you can't look away for the better.