Sometimes Always Never

I may never stop getting this film's title confused with another movie that also came out this year, "Never Rarely Sometimes Always."

"Sometimes Always Never" is a quirky and mostly forgettable little film, but it's anchored by a strong performance by Bill Nighy, as a dad on a meandering quest to track down a grown son who's gone missing. The film gives off Wes Anderson vibes, albeit much more subdued and melancholy ones. The production design gives the film some visual interest and a certain sense of style. It's one of those movies that I thoroughly enjoyed while in the middle of and can barely remember after having seen it, which is I guess my review of it in a nutshell. It does manage to build toward a modestly effective emotional pay off, I remember that much. For that reason, though it's not likely to blow your mind, the film also doesn't feel like a waste of time.

Grade: B+

Despite the rather grim topic, the film manages not to be overly sad. In fact it is an enjoyable journey of a father who becomes obsessed with scrabble in order to cope with his loss. It is a good psychological portrayal pf grief.

What a clever quirky little movie that proves when done well the British succeed where other fail.

No plot or spoilers here as it would ruin the movie but all the performances headed by Bill Nighy as Alan are superb. Bill Nighy plays droll eccentric old men better than anyone I can think of I can't imagine anyone else doing justice to this role. The last time I saw Bill Nighy in a movie was The Bookshop and even though it was not the starring role ,he played an almost Dickensian character he stole that movie

The only thing I'll say about the story is that it's about two families,both have suffered loss and both are bought together by the game of Scrabble.

The supporting cast of Sam Riley as Peter Alan's son and Jenny Agutter ,(out of habit as Sister Jullienne) well and truly in this film plays Margaret touchingly and with great humour ,this is a very funny movie ,almost a comedy but with a lot of pathos Tim McInnerny as Margaret 's droll husband is also very good. Also the rest of the cast Alice Lowe ,as Peters wife and Oliver Sindcup as young Peter are very very good.

Frank Cottrell Boyce ,who wrote screenplays for Goodbye Christopher Columbus ,Railway Man,and Hillary and Jackie among other films and television is one of the most respected writers for the British screen and it's easy to understand why.

I don't know much about director the Carl Hunter but if Sometimes Always Never is an example of his directing I hope to see more of his movies.

Don't miss this one.

I loved the movie. Bill Nighy is superb in anything he does, the rest of the cast were wonderful. It was written with humour, wittiness with a hint of sadness.

First off, the catchy title is simply a reference to guidance wearing a 3-button suit coat, sometimes the top button, always the middle button, never the bottom button. The main character is a tailor, he gives the advice to his teen grandson

Bill Nighy is Alan, Scrabble fan with two adult sons, and a teen grandson. One son, Michael, is missing, apparently he got up from a Scrabble game and left, they never heard from him again.

Several times the script references the Biblical prodigal son story, the one son who remained connected feels he isn't getting the love he deserves and all dad cares about is finding the missing son.

The story is a family relationship drama but sprinkled with humor. Bill Nighy makes it a worthwhile movie, all the other characters could have been played by almost anyone. However it was also good to see Jenny Agutter in a small role, she was mid-60s during filming, who could forget her performance in "Walkabout" when she was still a teenager?

I watched this on Amazon streaming movies.