Third Star (2010)

44% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
91% of users liked it
(378 ratings)

BAFTA-winning short filmmaker Hattie Dalton makes an auspicious feature debut with this poignant but still screamingly funny paean to making the most of life while you still can. James invites his three closest friends to join him on a road trip to his favourite place in the world. Like many an… More BAFTA-winning short filmmaker Hattie Dalton makes an auspicious feature debut with this poignant but still screamingly funny paean to making the most of life while you still can. James invites his three closest friends to join him on a road trip to his favourite place in the world. Like many an impulsive group holiday, however, the undertaking proves fraught with practical difficulties, surreal encounters and emotionally ravaging revelations... With a vibrant, witty and insightful script by Vaughan Sivell, and a quartet of excellent lead performances from the UK's finest young actors, this is a moving, pertinent and unpredictable film, and a fantastic showcase of new and promising British film talent.

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Hattie Dalton
Written By: Vaughan Sivell
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 1, 2010 Wide
Studio: Western Edge Pictures

Critic Reviews

Tom Long, Detroit News
As road trips go, this one travels far and travels well.
Kate Stables, Sight and Sound
Underneath Third Star's classy cladding, which camouflages its maudlin streak and conventional melodramatic underpinnings, there lies a TV movie first and last.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
Dalton, a Bafta-winning short filmmaker, ensures everything looks pleasant and polished enough, but there's very little here that stands out.
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
Rather familiar and predictable, though not dislikable.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
All of this feels a little too pat and obvious until we edge towards a lump-in-the-throat finale with an emotional wallop absent from the predictability of the previous scenes.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
This beautifully shot and finely acted drama will struggle to find an audience simply because its subject matter is ultimately so dark
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
It's an hour-and a-half of nothing.
Phelim O'Neill, Guardian [UK]
The characters aren't particularly likable or clever, but their chemistry is convincing and it's well performed.
Marc Lee, Daily Telegraph
Dalton's first feature doesn't quite reach the philosophical depths she appears to be aiming for, but Cumberbatch keeps sentimentality at bay, and the ending is almost unbearably poignant.
Damon Wise, Radio Times
A film that many will find more morbid than melancholy.
Antonia Quirke, Financial Times
Cumberbatch always seems to act as though he already has the letters OBE after his name.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out
The script is too full of events and outbursts for it truly to convince, but the actors bring charm to the film and director Hattie Dalton has a pleasingly light touch.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Impressively directed and sharply written, this is a powerfully emotional British drama with superb performances from all four leads.
Neil Smith, Total Film
Hattie Dalton's direction is sensitive but ponderous, making our own third star more than slightly grudging.
Anna Smith, Empire Magazine
Even a talented cast struggle to convince in this tough sell of a film.

Read all 15 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

A beautifully shot film starring a beautiful quartet of friends, one of whom has terminal cancer, making the journey to said dying friend's most favourite place on Earth to spend one last get-together. Sounds horrible perhaps, but this is truly a stunning, moving, hilarious,… More
A beautifully shot film starring a beautiful quartet of friends, one of whom has terminal cancer, making the journey to said dying friend's most favourite place on Earth to spend one last get-together. Sounds horrible perhaps, but this is truly a stunning, moving, hilarious, wonderful film that has been imbedded in my brain since I saw it on a tiny screen in a near-empty theatre. It's a small film with modest aims that absolutely succeeds on numerous levels and is one of the few films I've watched that had me uncontrollably *sobbing*. You can perhaps tell where it is going but every now and then I found myself wrong-footed in surprising ways. The concluding 15 minutes are a genuine tour-de-force in acting, writing and direction as every possible thought that anyone in such a situation would have is verbalised. To elaborate more would be unfair. This little seen and critically ignored/maligned film is worthy of your time and I implore you to seek it out as this talented director and exceptionally talented cast deserve to go on to do more widely recognised work.

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Third Star (2010)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

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