Finding Your Feet

source: Finding Your Feet

I was a little hesitant about "Finding Your Feet" at first. It seemed like yet another old people movie, joining a growing list that includes "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", "Quartet", "Lady in the Van" etc. I'm an old bloke and I don't necessarily need movies to remind me of it - especially after watching shows like "24 Hours in Emergency". However "Finding Your Feet" crept up on me. In some ways it's a similar scenario to "A Streetcar Named Desire", but instead of Blanche moving in with Stella in New Orleans, Sandra moves in with Bif in London, this time though there's a lot more laughter, dancing and wrinkles. After Sandra Abbott (Imelda Staunton) discovers her husband in flagrante delicto with her best friend, she heads to London to move in with her estranged, older sister Bif (Celia Imrie) in her council flat. Reluctantly, Sandra goes along with Bif to a dance class at a community centre where she meets Charlie (Timothy Spall), Jackie (Joanna Lumley) and Ted (David Hayman). Eventually a new life opens up for her. The characters in "Finding Your Feet" experience the demons stalking those who have reached this stage of life: cancer, dementia, death. Nevertheless "Finding Your Feet" is life affirming with a gentle charm - it's anything but a downer. The cast is a perfect ensemble of familiar faces as the story moves from beautiful country homes to council flats and community halls, and then to canal boats and scenes shot in Italy. It has a great soundtrack that features songs and instrumentals covering the 70-odd years of the character's lives from Rock n' Roll onward - with a little Johann Strauss thrown in. The film went way past the time for my Dulcolax and warm milk before bed, but glided by so easily that I was sorry when it ended. Despite those initial reservations, it's actually one the most enjoyable movies I've seen all year.

This is a delightful movie. Typically English, with the divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots". But, the "haves" don't always have "it" do they? This story explores the importance of relationships in a person's life. Family and friends can sometimes lift us, and sometimes bring us down. Don't settle for something that isn't making your heart sing. But then sometimes you have to break a heart to find what is actually right for you.

Sometimes when something is predictable I'm happy because I like what's predicted. That was the case with Finding Your Feet. Once I knew what the story line would be, many lines and scenes became predictable but who cared! I thoroughly enjoyed watching the film. The acting was excellent, especially by Imelda Staunton and Celia Imre. The characters they played were imminently likeable. They were different but their mutual love and respect for each other made them accept their differences. The film both looked and sounded great: full of color and rhythm. I alternately smiled and had tears. In the end I loved having a film about people my age, that I could relate to, that was both dramatic and ironic. P.S. After watching this film a second time within 24 hours, I loved and realized just how great it is, so changed the title and rating above.

"Finding Your Feet" is a new British 110-minute movie that premiered back in 2017 and this was made by established director Richard Loncraine, an Emmy winner, and the two writers are somewhat experienced as well, so there is the basis for a quality movie, especially if you take a look at the cast members here too. And honestly these were the highlight of the entire thing. Staunton, Sessions, Imrie, Spall certainly make a great impact with the material. The script is a bit on the shoddy side. Sometimes it is just amazing, sometimes it just doesn't feel right. The weakest moments include the random death of a sex partner, maybe also a central character's death at the end, which happens of course right one day after the important stage performance or the restaurant applauding the main character after she takes a stand against her ex-husband. I would say that the sex-related jokes, especially in the first half, may very well be this movie's biggest weakness. It tries to be funny, but virtually never is, just seems as if they recycled some of the worst lines from "Grace & Frankie". Fitting that Spall never is a part of that as he may very well be the best thing of the entire film. The dementia story line with his wife is really really touching on more than one occasion and if there is one aspect that may get your eyes wet, then this is it. Sadly, some weak plot twists resulting from it hurt this as well, like for example how does Spall fall in love so quickly with somebody else, so unstoppably with what's going on with his wife? Well, that could be explained to some extent, but really Staunton's character doing the same cannot in my opinion looking at how much she is embarrassed by the divorce papers, how she is clearly not over the long time with her husband etc. And how she pushes Spall's character away near the end because he did not tell her about the wife feels also a bit like fake drama. Not too sure about the Italy story by Imrie's character near the end. I guess it's okay. Debatable. The dancing aspect is not as frequent in this film as you could think from the trailer, description and the film's title. But it's okay, you definitely don't need to be a dancer to appreciate the film. Staunton and Spall have their fair share of character studies and period pieces in their bodies of work and their experience clearly pays off in making the somewhat ridiculous and cheesy story look tolerable. It's not the key story that will stay in your mind, it's the small moments like Spall's character giving solace to the other one after he mourns his wife once again. "Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?" being a thing of beauty (audibly) certainly helps matters too. The romance plot at the center is definitely a bit vague and not well thought-through occasionally. A bit of a pity. But it's still a charming movie during more than just a few scenes, especially if you like the cast. Not one the best films of the year, not even if you restrict the category to British films, but it's worth seeing I guess. Maybe I am also just not old enough for the film to resonate really well with me. This is one for senior audiences rather than young ones. Go check it out.

This is the latest British tragi-comedy from the FOUR WEDDINGS school of movie-making. Sandra (Imelda Staunton), the middle-aged wife of a newly knighted police chief in leafy Surrey, discovers he's been cheating on her. She goes to live with her Bohemian sister Bif (Celia Imrie) in a council flat in North London. Bif could not be more different from Sandra: a serial demonstrator, she swims year-roun in Highgate Ponds, drinks too much and smokes pot. She also goes to a dance club for senior citizens. Her best friend Charlie (Timothy Spall) lives on a houseboat in Paddington and daily visits his wife who is in care, so far lost to Alzheimer's that she no longer knows him. Sandra was a dance champion as a child. She reluctantly accompanies her sister to the dance studio and ... You can pretty well guess the rest of the movie. It's extremely predictable and sentimentality is layered on like celebrity tanning oil, but (a big BUT) it's bursting with charm and likeable - lovable - characters. The cast of 'Britpack' stalwarts includes Joanna Lumley and David Hayman. Everybody acts - and dances - effortlessly to win our hearts. And win them they do. There's an episode where the dance group goes to Rome, and - how obvious is this? - Charlie takes Sandra to the Trevi Fountain at night. Totally beguiling! This is very much a 'companion piece to Song for Marion (2012) with grumpy Terence Stamp, ailing Vanessa Redgrave and a singing rather than dancing club for seniors. The matinee audience at my multiplex in Brighton yesterday applauded at the end of FINDING YOUR FEET. Applause was deserved. The feel-good factor dances off the screen. You will feel good!

Battling brain cancer this movie generously and humorously got me on my feet and into life again.

There's no shortage of British comedies featuring all of our Dames finding romance with some twee comedy thrown in for good measure. The Best Exotic Marigold hotel had the grannies queueing out of the cinema doors to catch a glimpse of Dame Maggie Smith blasting out Dowager-esque zingers on a holiday to India. It brings new meaning to the term 'silver screen' when everyone in the audience is way past sixty, but it's a very profitable market for cinema chains. Many of these films provide a few laughs but are rather forgettable, fortunately Finding Your Feet isn't just one of the best examples of twilight comedy, it's one of the best examples of British comedy full stop. The film slithered out to a limited audience in 2017 failing to garner the attention of the likes of Calendar Girls and Best Exotic Marigold, however it pretty much blows every comedy of that ilk out of the water. Why it hasn't received the praise it deserves is beyond me. Everyone I've sat down to watch this with has sang its praises, even a grumbling millennial who instantly dismissed it because they didn't want to watch a film about 'old people falling in love' admitted that it was in fact, 'very good.' It follows Imelda Staunton, a stiff snob who relishes her new title of 'Lady Sandra Abbott' who finds herself in crisis after discovering that her husband has been having a Doctor Foster style affair with a lady not much younger than herself. Rightfully so, she storms out of that life and decides to rekindle with her estranged sister, Celia Imrie who couldn't be more opposite in character. What follows is a genuinely heart-warming tale that will have you grinning from ear to ear one minute and gushing with tears the next. What makes Finding Your Feet so involving is the beautifully fleshed-out characters. Lady Sandra Abbott may come across as unlikable and toffee-nosed initially, but the film takes time to peel back the layers so that your sympathies fully lie with her by the end of it. She's also brilliantly played by Imelda Staunton who never really disappoints in any role. In fact, the talent on display here is really top drawer stuff. Timothy Spall particularly impresses with his moving performance as does the always reliable Celia. It's also always a joy to see Joanna Lumley in a role, even if her screen time is limited. Anyone expecting to find a forgettable comedy about oldies learning to dance are in for a massive surprise as there's so much more to Finding Your Feet than this. I wasn't prepared for how emotionally devastating some of it was going to be. I very rarely feel my tear ducts wobbling in a film, but there were several moments in this where I thought I was going to blub, but perhaps I'm getting more emotional in my old age and can relate to the characters a bit more! Naysayers have slammed the film for being 'predictable' but I'd disagree. The narrative seems to unfold with the characters, making everything far more involving than your average romcom. There's an equal amount of comedy and tragedy to stop it from being overly sentimental and it ends on such a heart-warming note that you'd have to be made out of marble to not feel your cockles getting warm. This is a truly special little film which deserves to be watched time and time again in the calibre of other British comedies such as Bridget Jones and Love Actually.

This is a beautiful film about life and class and adventure and death and arrogance and...oh and all things human really. It's a poignant film with a happy ending, so very akin to a fairy tale with the wicked husband and the prince who rescues the princess and all the forest elves who are friends. It's a very upbeat film about people taking charge of their lives and the performances are exactly what you'd expect from the stellar cast. Fabulous film.

So as soon as I saw the cast of the movie, I knew it was going to be a great one, I didn't even have to watch the trailer to know that. This movie is a mixture of comedy, sadness and happy vibes. It will leave you feeling happy and wanting to make the most of your life. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants a feel good adventure!