Search - Cemetery Junction on DVD

A Surprising Delight

Gail F. Hoskins | Boston, MA USA | 09/14/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not a huge Ricky Gervais fan but I do hail from the town this is theoretically set in and so decided to rent it. I have to say that I found it hugely enjoyable. The prevailing attitude that you worked at a factory or for town's the large insurance company was absolutely spot on even 10 years later when I was the age of these characters. I thought that the acting was fantastic and I loved the characters of Julie's mother (a frumped up Emily Watson) and especially Sgt Wyn Davies (Steve Speirs) who plays the sort of police officer who can really change lives. My only gripe was in the choice of locations. The real Cemetery Junction is way, way too busy to be a practical choice of film location, I can see that, but the choice of such a rural setting made it look far too "choclate boxy" to fit the story line of three boys desperate to escape. Even then, Reading was a large, busy town with little similarity to the town centre the boys are seen striding through and Cemetery Junction itself is and was a run down area of narrow streets and tiny brick terraces. Other than that, the period detail was fantastic - the inside of my house was scarily just like Freddie's. And why oh why don't we have "Crazy Horses" by the Osmonds on more sound tracks? The world could be a better place..."