Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is an English comedy about some scruffy survivors who square off against an intruder who comes to town to reclaim his woman who is living with another man.
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08/29/03
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Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (2003)
51
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:72
Fresh:37
Rotten:35
Average Rating:5.7/10
Consensus: Though the concept is interesting and quirky, the drama fails to deliver.
Theatrical Release:Aug 29, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: A British family drama with a Western flare, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS starts out as a chaotic comedy of familial dysfunction and then changes into an emotional tale of love and loss. At the... [More]
Starring: Robert Carlyle, Rhys Ifans, Shirley Henderson, Ricky Tomlinson
Director: Shane Meadows
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Reviews for Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
Ifans' sniveling strains our sympathies, but the supporting cast is terrific.
08/28/03
Midlands is all over the place. But if you can handle a movie that slips from the silly to the sublime -- and can understand those thick Brit accents -- you might feel at home with this tale.
08/28/03
Attempts to take the Spaghetti Western style of Sergio Leone and fit them into a Bill Forsyth Scottish comedy
08/28/03
The complications are predictable, as is the resolution.
08/28/03
It has a generosity toward all of its characters that would give any film an endearing lightheartedness.
08/28/03
Top CriticDepressingly uneven because we know Shane Meadows is capable of much better.
08/28/03
It's a compelling and ambitious idea, but one that misfires because of its underwhelming characters and slack storytelling.
08/28/03
The acting is superb.
08/28/03
Top CriticA movie saved by great acting.
08/27/03
In moments when things don't so much happen as unfurl ... and any time the wonderful Kathy Burke, the antidote to cutification, is on screen -- Meadows honestly conveys the feeling of home on the Midlands range.
08/27/03
Top CriticHenderson of the velvet-and- helium voice makes a princess without rival.
08/26/03
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04/14/03
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10/30/02
While Meadows strives to ape the epic breadth of the genre and sets up a classic dramatic conflict, his film falters from too many of the kind of formulaic gags that would fit more happily on the small screen.
10/20/02
Offbeat, daring and really quite a treat.
10/06/02
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10/02/02
Once Upon A Time In the Midlands is another well-made piffle. Cute, funny, good enough
09/20/02
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09/10/02
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09/09/02
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