Such a Lovely Day

Seen through the eyes of Sam, we are taken on a journey through the loveliest of days. A glorious family gathering in a perfect English summer garden. There’ll be lunch under the mulberry tree, wine, games and dancing. And then, of course, this being a party, there’ll be a surprise.

The quiet young "Sam" (Tommy Finnegan) arrives at what looks like a casting lunch for a Joanna Hogg film with his mum and dad. It's a grand big country home with loads of buzzing activity and people milling around effusively greeting one another like long lost friends, whilst supping wine, some al fresco dining and.. well I'm sure you get the drift. This young lad, though, he stays slightly on the circumference of the occasion. He's there in body but you feel not so much in spirit. Towards the end of the evening, we discover that it's a birthday party for his mum (Eve Best) and he is to make his own speech - but, let's just say that the illusion of the day's upper-middle class Elysium is soon precariously balanced! It does look good but there are too many cast members to detract from what is essentially the rather ponderous journey to a thirty second denouement that works, but only - for me, at any rate, because the rest of it is about as uninteresting an observation as I can think of. A shock for the sake of a shock? Worth a watch, you can decide.