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 story's core is a love triangle between Shirley (Shirley Henderson), her nerdy boyfriend Dek (Rhys... 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 story's core is a love triangle between Shirley (Shirley Henderson), her nerdy boyfriend Dek (Rhys Ifans), and the bad seed Jimmy (Robert Carlyle). Jimmy abandoned Shirley and her daughter Marlene (Finn Atkins) years ago, but has returned to win them back. A motley pseudo-family, Shirley, Dek, and Marlene live in the Midlands area of England. Next door, the outspoken Carol (Kathy Burke) lives with her cowboy husband Charlie (Ricky Tomlinson), and their two young sons, along with Carol's teenage daughter Donna (Kelly Thresher) and Donna's boyfriend Donut (Andrew Shim). Jimmy is Carol's selfish brother who slinks back into town with a gang of Scottish thugs in tow, throwing the whole group into flux. With some hilarious comedic interludes provided by the loveable Dek, and the humdrum yet happy lives of this makeshift family proving the power of togetherness, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS is an entertaining, at times heartrending family story from writer-director Shane Meadows. [More]