Twin Town

It suddenly occurred to me while watching this film that, whether by accident or design, I've seen a whole lot of films that star Rhys Ifans. His brother Llyr appears with him here, the lesser-experienced brother that had previously only appeared in Ymadawiad Arthur and has made no further films to date. He does adequately, yet watching this - Rhys' second cinema film - it becomes clear he's the star.

Off-puttingly touted as the "Welsh Trainspotting" - because who wants imitations? - this is really nothing of the sort, and is far more impressive than you would expect. Already three years old, it has yet to be shown on British terrestrial television and nor do I expect it ever will be. It's content is morally vacuous, including police corruption, joyriding, drug taking, animal killings and murder. Peppering the script are a man who breaks his wife's nose, massage parlour brothels, female masturbation and almost continuous usage of the f-word.

If that hasn't already put you off, this is a tale that features two bath-sharing brothers, who, after being refused compensation for their father's broken leg, take revenge by urinating on their enemy's daughter. However, Twin Town, bizarrely, never really offends, as it is done in, despite the subject matter, a good-natured tone. And I did have to smile at the real-life names of the dogs that feature in this tale of cocaine dealers - Charlie and Snowy. I wonder if that was intentional?

What really grips about Twin Town is that, in the age of the depleted UK film industry, it lacks the desperate mugging and dead laugh areas that characterise the 1990s British "comedy". A desperate, "please love us America, please give us your box office, we're begging", which is normally prevalent in the genre, is almost wholly absent here. (For further information on such a desperate breed, see Rhys' first major film: "Notting Hill") Okay, there is the overstatement that sees a male voice choir singing Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime", or the twins joyriding their own father's hearse, but generally this film, despite the extremities of it's plot, does keep an eye towards realism and naturalistic dialogue. And the overlong, feeble "comic pauses" that normally kill off the rotting carcasses of British Film are nowhere to be found, due to a constantly moving, frenetic pace.

The only down side to all this is that, apart from Rhys who has appeared in, to date, ten movies after this, the rest of the crew involved haven't achieved success. In fact, this was the first feature of the two writers involved and they haven't written another film since, presumably due to its lacklustre showing at the box office. A great shame, as Twin Town is well worth watching.

Being a Swansea girl originally, I had no trouble in deciphering the accents...

Swansea is indeed an Ugly, Lovely City, and the stark and honest portrayal of life in the dull valleys of south Wales, where unemployment is high, was a piece of script writing and directing genius. The Lewis "twins" were played brilliantly by the Evans brothers, and their honest and forthright portrayal of two youngsters bored with the humdrum life was refreshing and gritty. The human touch in this film was evident from the start, and in many areas it seemed to have an almost Docu Drama type genre, which added to the realism. It is unfair to compare Twin town to Trainspotting, as there are no comparisons to be made, both should be viewed as independant films, and to link them together does the would be viewer no justice. Twin Town has all the elements of a great movie, Comedy, Drama, and in combining these,the viewer cannot help but become attached to the characters. This film made me laugh, gasp and cry.A stroke of Pure Genius.

Danny Boyle is in many ways the British answer to Quentin Tarantino. Despite Boyle not having complete authority over TWIN TOWN, his trademarks are definitely present, and many parts of this film are truly excellent. However, the film as a whole seems to lack true continuity, as it seems to be a loose, simple plot formed by sporadic situations that the writers feel are funny (in many ways they are). Which brings me on to the Tarantino connection - one has to only watch 20 minutes of his films to realise the man is in love with situations - whether they be from circumstance or dialogue. However Quentin is the true master of this kind of film-making. A lesser creator will provide interesting and funny scenes, but with a taste of incompletion left in the mouth.

That said, TWIN TOWN is acted wonderfully, and the Swansea setting makes for some interesting and novel humour. Whereas some of the violence seems a little contrived, it is refreshing to see new kinds of film-making, and moreso to see it grow from the mind of Brits!

The film has everything you'd want it to have. Especially if you're British. Probably more of a bloke's film, but still fun for everyone.

The story is brilliant, and so accurately welsh. Every minor detail adds to the whole experience. The film progresses like a serious drama and seems to come out with brilliant comedy without even trying. As well as the actual storyline being funny, little quirks about each character and even the attention to welsh detail makes you laugh.

Not only is it well written, it's also beautifully filmed, and makes great use of the camera. The film encompasses a huge range of interesting shots.

Enhancing the film further was it's great choice of cast. All the characters were perfectly conveyed, and film avoided any bad performances.

The music is also something to listen out for, as it stands out as a good piece of work on it's own.

I highly recommend Twin Town (especially if you're British), as it's an exciting film experience with a great story, interesting shots, decent actors, and appropriate use of excessive swearing and violence.

I enjoyed the film, but can easily see how others might not feel as I did. When I saw the preview, I was immediately interested in the movie -- despite the fact that the preview I saw revealed nothing about the film itself. The most I ever get to learn or hear about Wales is through reading Hollinshed's histories of the middle ages. It was interesting to see a film actually set in a modern Welsh town.

Besides, it was f'ing hilarious.