It sounded fun, and was for a few minutes. It never gets beyond the "morris is a bit odd" joke. We walked out before the end. There's just nothing much to it, it's tedious, drawn out and boring.
Right, first off: I'm a member of a morris side. That confession out of the way, let me tell you that this review's objectivity is in no way compromised by my preferred pastime; though it is perhaps only because I'm a morris man that I'd heard so much about Morris: A Life With Bells On. Word has been spreading through our small and intimate community like smallpox for nearly a year, rapidly infecting all of us with a compulsive desire to see how our dances (and, by extension, ourselves) have been observed and re-rendered for comedic effect - so much so that an online petition started by Oxfordshire's very own Cat Moore gathered over 8000 signatures to secure its national release. Indeed, the Phoenix has added extra screenings to cater for disappointed dancers not able to squeeze into the first Sunday's shows; though I was pleased to see that it was not just fellow folkies in the auditorium.
The film opens with a veritable slideshow of idyllic West Country landscapes - hills, trees, sheep, you get the idea - punctuated by an aerial shot of our hero, Derecq Twist (Charles Thomas Oldham) of Millsham Morris, dancing next to the Giant of Cerne Abbas as you've never seen him before. From the outset, you get a sense of how the humour is worked into this picture: a very straightforward, authentic, documentary style of filmmaking lulls you into believing that it's all real; then, all of a sudden, a somewhat crude and obvious joke shatters the illusion and reminds you that this is a comedy, and you're supposed to be laughing. Don't get me wrong, there are some delightfully funny moments, but I noticed that the morris men in the audience were laughing more often than most. For example, the introduction of Millsham's 'cultural exchange programme' student from Newcastle-upon-Tyne drew some chuckles, but the heartiest laughter came from the folk cognoscenti, aware as they are of the University of Newcastle's new degree programme in traditional music.
As we follow Derecq on his quest to modernise Millsham Morris, defying the will of Quentin Neely (Derek Jacobi), head of the Morris Circle (again, ask a morris man), we meet the side's cattle-inseminating foreman, a cider-brewing bagman, an existential Frenchman, and some very camp men from California... it would be fair to say that the humour trades heavily on stereotypes. Understandable, perhaps, for a Spinal Tap-style mockumentary. But between the obvious jokes, the obscure jokes, and the jokes you're not sure were jokes, there are moments of very real emotion and poignancy, and it is here that Morris: A Life With Bells On scores very well indeed. Hardy morris men were reduced to tears watching Millsham's fortunes take a turn for the worse; similarly, Twist's charming naivety inspired a wide smile and a warm glow whenever things were looking up for him. In fact, whenever the screenplay stopped being self-consciously comedic for a while, the exquisite camerawork provoked real empathy with whoever or whatever the camera was pointing at.
This film has already proved itself to be something of a word-of-mouth sensation; perhaps even the home-grown hit of the year. True, the sensation may have more to do with the morris grapevine than the film's comedy credentials, but if it does prove to be a critical success, it'll be thanks to the beautifully shot, well observed, very human story of a man discovering that home is where the heart is.