For anyone who missed Sightseers in the cinema, purchasing it on DVD is a must. Its blend of the shocking and what initially seems a quirky, Mike Leigh-style British road movie is audacious. Mischievously subverting the familiar, it’s funny, pathos-filled and openly questions the nature of morality. It’s hugely entertaining too.
By now, the adventures of Steve Oram’s ginger-faced Chris and Alice Lowe’s angry-woman Tina have been recounted endlessly. Both their performances are sure to fuel cult fandom, with Sightseers assured an afterlife akin to that of Withnail and I. Director Ben Wheatley is well versed in what makes a cult film. His last outing, Kill List, married the Brit hit-man genre with the strain of shockers exemplified by The Wicker Man and The Devil Rides Out.
Sightseers is a more seamless, and consequently more satisfying, film than Kill List, which started as one thing and became another. Sightseers’ split personality is more delicately nuanced and an almost-constant presence, rather than manifesting itself after a sudden left turn. Which means that when the surprises come, they are all the more of a jolt. Especially when depicted in such a deadpan way. Wheatley also has a keen sense of satire. His take on Britain certainly nods in the direction of the Mike Leigh of Nuts in May, but it also has the brutality which Shane Meadows sometimes lets bubble to the surface.
The DVD includes out-takes, a couple of trailers and two commentaries. None is really essential. A film this strong, this satisfying and this delightful is a main course which requires no hors d'œuvres. It’s certainly impossible to stomach a dessert after its astonishing climax.
