Complete A-Z list


Dangerous Parking

3/10

Stars: Peter Howitt, Saffron Burrows, Rachael Stirling, Sean Pertwee, Alice Evans, Tom Conti, Dervla Kirwan

Director: Peter Howitt

From the director of Sliding Doors, this is a very different kettle of fish, concerning Noah, a hell-raising film director, and his battles against alcoholism and bladder cancer.

You can imagine Ricky Gervais tackling this as something different, but here it's writer-director Peter Howitt himself as Noah, who wolfs down drink, drugs, girls and fame with an insatiable hunger, until his lifestyle catches up with him.

The scenario doesn't do too badly for 40 minutes or so, but when Noah goes into rehab, it segues into some kind of bad, trendy, (very) pseudo Lindsay Anderson seventies film, to which its alternately arch and foul-mouthed dialogue is all too appropriate.

The occasional good line - 'My head's a dangerous place,' moans Noah. 'I shouldn't be wandering through it alone' - holds up the decline, but the film is a tough watch and no fun to be with. Performances from a strong cast are OK, without cutting into our emotions.

David Quinlan

UK 2007. UK Distributor: Delanic Films. Colour by deluxe.
109 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 18.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 2, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 1, Swearing 3.

Review date: 17 May 2008