jameslinton-75252 I loved Three and Out. Everything about it was so good. The performances were great especially from the lead actors: Mackenzie Crook, Imelda Staunton and Colm Meaney. Three and Out is very much a dark comedy and it is hilarious in places, but also tragic in others. The ending is absolutely heart-breaking. (SPOILER ALERT) I was praying that Tommy Cassidy would have changed his mind, yet after everything that has happened, he still wants Paul Callow to kill him, which he does. I also loved the setting of the film. As a Londoner myself, I know full well why Paul Callow wants to leave London. Everyone in London is horrible and the noise is unbearable.Read my full review for more: http://goo.gl/mM9IxQ

piverba The Christian Idea of God's Grace, the forgiveness one attains through repentance, is an optimistic stanza one assumes toward life – the absolution is always possible, no matter how great the offense.Assuming a hard working dope that's all his life tried to endure and provide, to be fair and altruistic, to love and cherish his wife and children – this dope lives and dies without love and forgiveness, because there is nothing to forgive. Next day after expiration he is forgotten. This dope, like the air, nobody notices – it is always there and is taken for granted because it is unconditionally given and always available.Consider a catholic mobster, who kills, rapes and tortures, he appears in a confession booth and in a minute is fully renewed and forgiven. No more sins and life starts anew. Same with the main character of this film, perhaps not fully forgiven but remembered, for all these years of being an egoist and a scumbag, his daughter still loves him, for all these promises, that remained unfulfilled, she missed him all these years. He's not an air to her, familiar and always accessible, rather unattainable dream, never fulfilled and always pregnant with potentiality. And after the final loss (death) he will be remembered and never forgotten as a mystery, never fully revealed. Apparently there is a golden median, were giving and appreciation go hand-in-hand, in a dynamic equilibrium – but how one finds this balance? Often, promises of eternal salvation that will follow ethical behavior obtain no evidence of the salvation while we are still alive."Three and Out" provides no answers to these eternal questions. The title itself, reflecting narrative setup - "Run over three people in one month to obtain the ticket out of this mad house into a paradise" – does not really suggest good symbolism. Two accidental victims and, finally, last one, executed. Perhaps this is due punishment, without mercy, an execution that restores justice. "A deal is a deal" – an obligation before God and people in the game called Life, where one who not giveth should not receiveth. No mercy. But then the ending, the daughter of the executed with the executioner are now lovers.Positive: An attempt to address a human condition. The casting presents ordinary people.Negative: Trite plot – we already had seen films with very similar ideas before and similar outcomes. Characters often are not believable. Paul and Frankie are very unlikely pair and their engagement feels very forced and unreal. The film never achieves pathos that is required when addressing this kind of matters.Conclusion: The director was trying to make a film that means something – not just an entertainment. I do not feel he had fully succeeded. However, this is a serious effort, and should be treated with respect.

Jamie Ward 'Three and Out', a film largely based around a character wanting to kill himself, is in all its irony, genuinely heartfelt, compelling and utterly hilarious as both a dark comedy and a solid character drama. There is no denying that this is not going to be for everyone, as the entire experience could be just as depressing to some as it could be amusing to others, but that's what makes it so interesting and refreshing. Furthermore, despite the film's grim premise I was pleasantly surprised that much of it is done in a tactful and tasteful manner, taking time to develop plot and character substantially enough to transform the otherwise quirky gimmick into a solid piece of character drama that never lets down. Sure enough this is by no means a perfect picture yet it certainly deserves a lot more praise than it has so far garnered; especially considering the ballsy themes and jet black tone which it adopts straight from the opening scenes.What makes the film as effective as it is lies heavily on its script which takes time to develop fully realised, empathetic and highly likable characters, complete with three dimensions and who are consistently engaging. There are nevertheless moments when the writing does resort to certain stereotypes, but such instances are only ever used with good intentions and subtle shades, never truly distracting from the experience. The writers use their characters to successfully justify and back up the drama spliced throughout the piece, which when attempted with less well rounded characters would feel tacked on and cheap. 'Three and Out' more often than not gets it spot on however, with only a couple moments here and there which take things a little too far into overdone melodrama. The best thing about having such characters though is that they too can pull off comedy when called upon, delivering many instances of tastefully done dark wit, derived mostly from the characters themselves. It's a hard thing to do no doubt, and although the balance of comedy and drama can shift rather drastically, for the most part they are blended together with great care, resulting in mostly flowing transitions between the two. As mentioned, the comedy itself is extremely dark, specifically when involving the subject of suicide. Yet thanks to the very careful, precise direction from newcomer Jonathan Gershfield, such usages are both emotively effective in the ways which you would expect from the themes, but they also manage to retain a sense of light-heartedness which can be rather disorientating from an everyday perspective, yet this is largely where dark humour draws its absurdities from, and it works brilliantly here. The story is a bit of a double edged sword in that while certain elements are extremely interesting and move along with easily sustainable momentum, there are drops every now and again which don't work quite as well and drag the pace of the film to a much more disengaging level. Although things never quite get too slow, for too long, these small imperfections become rather irritating in context of the otherwise high-quality writing. Nevertheless the majority of the plot is wonderfully low-key, occupying just a weekend but taking you on a journey full of hilarious situations, compelling characters and homely locations (at least if you reside in the UK). It's a journey that becomes far more than its simple plot however and seems endless thanks to the people who occupy it. Perhaps most enjoyable of all though is that it always feels familiar and genuine, with very little fabrication or contrivance to be found.Performances from the cast are terrific and are certainly one of, if not the greatest highlight of the feature with both Crook and Meaney conveying the tone of the film created through their characters perfectly, never coming off as over or underdone. I was a big fan of Crook's work in The Office, and was pleasantly surprised to find him playing a role similar but also distinctly different. He's incredibly emotive when he needs to be and brings a real down-to-earth- flavour to his character that really helps solidify the mature, intelligent focus of the feature, filling the lead role competently. Meaney who I have grown far more used to seeing in a Starfleet uniform and being neglected to repeating such lines as 'Yes, of course captain' is much better used here, given plenty of room to show his superb acting capabilities. He nails the big-hearted but flawed Tommy Cassidy brilliantly, bringing charm and charisma to the duo. Both share brilliant interactions and the chemistry is high enough to meet the demands for both the comedy and drama. The supporting cast hold their own but never have much screen time enough to really show much worth mentioning, although Staunton does share some rather touching scenes with Meaney that really brings out the best of her abilities, along with Meaney's softer side.In the end I found 'Three and Out' to be a highly moving, compelling and original piece of comedic drama. There are low points here and there but thankfully they never distract or take too much away from the entire experience which is for the most part, well developed and realistically entertaining. With terrific performances, down to earth characterisation that constantly feels familiar, and an entertaining, refreshingly dark plot, the film is certainly not without its highlights. If ever there was a misunderstood film of this year, this would probably share the top spot with 'The Good Night'. Regardless, 'Three and Out' is well worth your attention if you like your comedy black and your drama relevant; a solid piece of British film-making.

techenterprise Everything about the film was pretty great parts of it were hilarious, the acting was good and at times brilliant, Colm Meaney in particular; even Kerry Katona who had a small cameo role in it didn't come across too badly! It dealt with the sensitive issues central to the film very well, Im not sure why the train drivers made such a fuss about it; it really doesn't dwell on any of the issues complained about at all. Much to my surprise, the comedy was backed up by some really moving moments. Didn't expect to love this film but the mix of comedy and drama made it a really enjoyable hour and a half - definitely would suggest that you go and see it.