The Legend of Barney Thomson

Not that funny but you want to see the whole thing.

Carlyle's directorial debut is an odd mixture of comedy and drama that doesn't quite find its groove. The grim setting, the slow meandering plot, and the bleak Glaswegian accent don't scream fun, nor do they push a comedic tone. Fortunately, Carlyle and Thompson's performances are engaging enough to keep the film entertaining. The ending leaves the film on a high note, though there are pacing issues throughout.

Emma Thompson is hilarious.

More The Rotten Luck of Barney Thomson.... Appreciate dysfunctional stuff like this!

Started off promising, but slid badly about half an hour in. Carlyle is good as always, and Emma Thomson's character is well-observed, although her accent is a bit wonky. The main problem with the film is that the screenplay is really slipshod, and the tone is all over the place. It struggles as a comedy, and is way too stupid to work as a drama. It's a shame because it captures Glasgow's east end and its characters quite brilliantly at times.

It's hard to decide if Barney Thomson is more comedic than it is macabre, often finding an engrossing cross-section between both in any given scene. The film, for the most part, is unnering in its tone, as you'll naturally find yourself producing belly-laughs during scenes involving delimbed corpses and guilt-ridden monologues.