Cemetery junction

At last, a film about life assurance! According to Wikipedia this film was meant to be called "The man from the Pru" until Prudential read the script and decided it didn't paint life assurance in the right light! I rented this film on Lovefilm, and enjoyed it a lot. It was written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant - Gervais also has a supporting role in the cast. It is set in 1973 in a Reading suburb, and the period settings are all perfect - the music, the clothes, the hairstyles, even the wallpaper! It is the story of three mates in their early twenties finding their way in life. Freddie has secured a job at a life assurance company, to save him from working in the factory, and give him the chance to have a Rolls Royce in 20 years. Bruce works in the said factory and is an angry young man, with a poor relationship with his out of work Dad and a tendency to get involved in fights. Snork is a likeable misfit with some "interesting" self-designed tattoos and a deft way of turning off the girls, and works at the railway station. The three together have a close bond and the story is altogether very uplifting, and there is some grooovy dancing too! There are some amusing one liners such as "Freddie, stop listening to all this music by poofs. Put some Elton John on!" Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson are very good as Mr & Mrs Life Assurance boss. Fiennes is remarkably like an unfunny Leonard Rossiter.