Faintheart (2008)
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21% of critics liked it
(14 reviews) -
56% of users liked it
(679 ratings)
A man who enjoys living in the past is having a hard time dealing with the present in this comedy from the UK. Richard (Eddie Marsan) spends his days dealing with cranky customers at a big-box home improvement store, but on weekends he becomes a fearsome Viking warrior with a local role-playing… More A man who enjoys living in the past is having a hard time dealing with the present in this comedy from the UK. Richard (Eddie Marsan) spends his days dealing with cranky customers at a big-box home improvement store, but on weekends he becomes a fearsome Viking warrior with a local role-playing group called the Bloody Broadswords. Richard and his best friend Julian (Ewen Bremner) help the group recreate centuries-old battles with all the realism their limited finances can muster, but Richard's wife Cath (Jessica Hynes) has lost her patience with him spending so much time with the Broadswords and so little time around the house. Richard's son Martin (Joseph Hamilton) is also grown tired of being dragged along to mock battles that earn him the ridicule of his schoolmates, even if his almost girlfriend Emily (Chloe Hesar) approves. Eventually, Cath gives Richard his walking papers, and while he tries to win her back, the fact she soon starts dating Gary (Paul Nicholls), Martin's gym coach, suggests he has a tough battle ahead of him. Meanwhile, Julian is having better luck in his love life when his girlfriend Maggie (Bronagh Gallagher) asks him to move in with her, but Julian's mother isn't pleased to learn he's finally leaving home. Faintheart was directed by Vito Rocco and written by Rocco and David Lemon, who documented the production and sought input from film fans via the social networking internet site MySpace. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Vito Rocco
- Genres
- Art House & International, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 20, 2008 Wide
- Studio
- Vertigo Films
Critic Reviews
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Trevor Johnston, Time Out
It all feels very samey, the comic potential of the mock battles never approached with genuine enthusiasm but treated as a mere gag, and one which soon outstays its welcome. Amiable yet underwhelming.
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Philip French, Observer [UK]
It's tiresome in its own way.
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Edward Porter, Sunday Times (UK)
What has emerged is an ordinary film that might have been made for television at any time in the past few decades.
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Helen OHara, Empire Magazine
The laughs come few and far between in a story as drab as the Northern skies under which it is set.
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Jon Fortgang, Film4
Put away your eight-sided dice and go seek this immensely likable, sparky little comedy about fantasy, reality and love conquering all.
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Cast
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Eddie Marsan
as Richard
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Ewen Bremner
as Julian
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Jessica Hynes
as Cath
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Bronagh Gallagher
as Maggie
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Tim Healy
as Geoff
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Paul Nicholls
as Gary
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Anne Reid
as Barbara
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Joseph Hamilton
as Martin
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Chloe Hesar
as Emily
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Richard Ridings
as Colin
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Gary Sefton
as Vince
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Kevin Eldon
as Alan
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Sandra Voe
as Julian's mom
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Matthew Leighton
as Kim
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Tom Smith
as Danny
- Calum Chalmers
