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Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2002)

tomatometer

51

Average Rating: 5.7/10
Reviews Counted: 74
Fresh: 38 | Rotten: 36

Though the concept is interesting and quirky, the drama fails to deliver.

64

Average Rating: 5.9/10
Critic Reviews: 25
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 9

Though the concept is interesting and quirky, the drama fails to deliver.

audience

46

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 3,393

My Rating

Movie Info

Shane Meadows directed this film, which is the third and final chapter in his Nottingham Trilogy which also includes 1999's A Room for Romeo Brass and 1997's Twentyfourseven. Starring The Full Monty's Robert Carlyle, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a twist on the traditional Western film, transplanting the action to modern-day Nottingham, England. Jimmy (Carlyle) is a small-time criminal who comes back into town after seeing his old girlfriend turn down a marriage proposal on television.

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Drama, Comedy

Shane Meadows, Paul Fraser

Feb 10, 2004

Sony Pictures Classics

All Critics (85) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (38) | Rotten (36) | DVD (7)

The family dynamics are intriguing, and the performances mildly diverting.

October 10, 2003 Comment
Orlando Sentinel
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What Leone did for cowboys and crime, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands does for a more contemporary genre.

October 10, 2003 Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | Comment
Detroit Free Press
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Some strong performances make it go by fairly painlessly, but inconsistencies involving plot and character keep it from ever being more than marginally involving.

October 9, 2003 Comment
Arizona Republic
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The movie is so busy being quirky that it's hard to relate to it.

October 2, 2003 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Minneapolis Star Tribune
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A little tedious to sit through.

September 26, 2003 Comment
Washington Post
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Always predictable in its outcome, but it still retains a certain charm.

September 26, 2003 Comment
Washington Post
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Like a Mike Leigh film on steroids, situations don't dawn slowly on these characters, they come crashing down on their heads.

May 5, 2010 Full Review Source: East Bay Express | Comment
East Bay Express

The title and the music suggest a Sergio Leone spaghetti western, but the setting and characters would be more at home in a Mike Leigh film.

April 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema | Comment
Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema

...a wry and likable movie that contents itself with the petty concerns, complications and conflicts that compose modern life.

January 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | Comment
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Clever and generally successful attempt to present a British domestic drama with comedic overtones, all in the style of a Sergio Leone western.

December 8, 2004 Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | Comment
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The top-notch cast makes this movie work. Carlyle is born to play the hard-to-resist rogue, and Henderson conveys a sexy vulnerability ...

April 1, 2004 Full Review Source: Las Vegas CityLife | Comment

Once Upon a Time in the Midlands gets off some rapid-fire comic shots. . . . a daffy, charm-your-pants-off kitchen-sink comedy.

January 16, 2004 Comment
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada)

In the end, Meadows' film lacks the bite it needs to make us care about this oddball trio, endearing though they are.

November 16, 2003 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Austin Chronicle

Put in Shirley's shoes, most women would be hunting around for a Door Number 3, and that's where Midlands ultimately fails to connect.

October 31, 2003 Full Review | Comment
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

The cast fleshes out Meadows' thin storyline with some comically rich character work.

October 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | Comment
Orlando Weekly

It's safe to say that Leone has never in his career made anything as goofy -- or as sweet -- as this comedy.

October 17, 2003 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | Comment
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Only Ifans, with his hangdog expressions and dithering double-talk, generates any laughs or sympathy.

October 17, 2003 Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | Comment
Salt Lake Tribune
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Once Upon a Time in the Midlands

Shane Meadows is without doubt, one of the best British directors around at present. He knows his way around the working class lifestyle of Britain with a welcome and refreshing outlook that has, until his arrival, been commandeered by the likes of Ken Loach and Mike Leigh. Waking up in a drunken haze Glaswegian crook

May 27, 2011
MrMarakai

Super Reviewer

Been waiting for a while to watch this and found it hard to get hold of. You can certainly see the 'Shane Meadows' stamp on this one, but in comparrison to his other films, it doesn't quite measure up. Meadows himself, is pretty aware of this, as he has spoken of this in interviews. That being said, it's a light

October 25, 2008
76Majikat

Super Reviewer

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