I knew I was in for something great when I found out Brian Cox, a veteran actor who I've always admired since I saw him in X-Men 2 as kid, but his always great acting is just one of the many positives of 'Killing Thyme's richness. The opening titles are well done, really stand out and had a colour scheme that fits the allotment which is the primary setting of the film. The opening sequence itself also establishes the setting & is staged really well, having imagery of beautiful well known skyscrapers in background of council estates and quite streets was not only truly inspired but captured how London is both contrastingly vast and small which works well with the small intimate story.
Joe Reynolds is great as Sam especially when it comes to his chemistry with Cox's Norman. Their growing relationship avoids the 'bitter old man warms up to the equally lonely child' cliche since the film takes its time to build up how their shared status as loners brings them together despite how these two are entertainingly completely different in character/experience. Sam's quirks as well as how, as Norman implied, his interest in knowledge is not often typical for many young people these days not only makes him endearing but also sympathetic even when he's doing things that he shouldn't be. His relationship with mother and the work that went into giving their home character i.e. The plants on the balcony, felt authentic and is another example of how 'Killing Thyme" is intimate when capturing how these characters live their lives (Anna always forgetting her keys was a particular nice touch).
The tone shift halfway through the film when Sam attempts to "euthanise" Norman could have easily gone wrong but it felt right and it was a great surprise I didn't see coming. It's realistic that a child would believe the concept of life and death would be easy to understand only after reading a few books so Sam's logic/motivations were always believable even if his 'win win solution' of killing an old man who "wanted to die" and getting an allotment at the same was quite (laughably) messed up. The tension builds up really well when Sam poisons Norman's coffee and the latter kept on walking in on him creating false alarms, obviously I didn't want Sam to succeed but I didn't want him to get caught either because he's generally a good kid; all of this created conflicted emotions in me that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The only problem I had was the really small fraction that made up the ending. While I didn't want Sam to get in trouble, I felt that Norman and Anna's reacted to his "attempted murder" a bit too calmly which somewhat lessens the stakes of what he did. I get that the acting style for the film isn't meant to be too dramatic which works in keeping the narrative grounded but Sam did do something extremely messed up and while I found it hilarious/relieving that Norman simply told Sam to get back to work after the latter's botched euthanasia attempt, I felt the film just ended rather than having a solid conclusion that was built up to. Overall, I am glad I saw this, the three leads gave it there all, I felt various emotions in a small span of time and the themes of life and death were done in a new and engaging ways.
Joe Reynolds is great as Sam especially when it comes to his chemistry with Cox's Norman. Their growing relationship avoids the 'bitter old man warms up to the equally lonely child' cliche since the film takes its time to build up how their shared status as loners brings them together despite how these two are entertainingly completely different in character/experience. Sam's quirks as well as how, as Norman implied, his interest in knowledge is not often typical for many young people these days not only makes him endearing but also sympathetic even when he's doing things that he shouldn't be. His relationship with mother and the work that went into giving their home character i.e. The plants on the balcony, felt authentic and is another example of how 'Killing Thyme" is intimate when capturing how these characters live their lives (Anna always forgetting her keys was a particular nice touch).
The tone shift halfway through the film when Sam attempts to "euthanise" Norman could have easily gone wrong but it felt right and it was a great surprise I didn't see coming. It's realistic that a child would believe the concept of life and death would be easy to understand only after reading a few books so Sam's logic/motivations were always believable even if his 'win win solution' of killing an old man who "wanted to die" and getting an allotment at the same was quite (laughably) messed up. The tension builds up really well when Sam poisons Norman's coffee and the latter kept on walking in on him creating false alarms, obviously I didn't want Sam to succeed but I didn't want him to get caught either because he's generally a good kid; all of this created conflicted emotions in me that kept me on the edge of my seat.
The only problem I had was the really small fraction that made up the ending. While I didn't want Sam to get in trouble, I felt that Norman and Anna's reacted to his "attempted murder" a bit too calmly which somewhat lessens the stakes of what he did. I get that the acting style for the film isn't meant to be too dramatic which works in keeping the narrative grounded but Sam did do something extremely messed up and while I found it hilarious/relieving that Norman simply told Sam to get back to work after the latter's botched euthanasia attempt, I felt the film just ended rather than having a solid conclusion that was built up to. Overall, I am glad I saw this, the three leads gave it there all, I felt various emotions in a small span of time and the themes of life and death were done in a new and engaging ways.