Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story [M]

Steve Coogan is playing the lead in a film adaptation of Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman. Things are running along smoothly enough until the road to a completed film becomes a little bumpy with the potholes coming in the form of his girlfriend and newborn son paying him a visit, his co-star taking the piss out of him at every chance, a constant stream of script complications hitting him hard, and his shoes not having the right amount of heel. 

I’ll be honest, I haven’t read the book (not even the first volume that I was supposed to read for uni before watching this screening), but I can say that Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the book, turning it into a biting and very modern art form all its own made this move quite refreshing and enjoyable. It’s filled with dual roles, familiar faces, and great banter that puts me in mind of a subdued, but still funny The Player. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this movie was brilliant, but I will say that I enjoyed it and would recommend it for the more quirky and creative audience. 

Steve Coogan is playing the lead in a film adaptation of Lawrence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy Gentleman. Things are running along smoothly enough until the road to a completed film becomes a little bumpy with the potholes coming in the form of his girlfriend and newborn son paying him a visit, his co-star taking the piss out of him at every chance, a constant stream of script complications hitting him hard, and his shoes not having the right amount of heel. 

What’s hugely clever about this is the fact that it’s a story within a story, a film within a film. It’s not a modern day retelling or revamping of an 18^th century novel, rather it takes the themes most potent in the novel and explores them in the manner of the story with the idea of the actual book being a backdrop. All the characters are playing themselves as well as playing the characters of the novel and in some cases (like that of Steve Coogan) they’re playing more than two roles. 

The script is made up of this wonderful witty banter between the ‘implied actors’ (e.g. Steve playing a version of himself) that brings a great sense of realism and genuineness to the film and it has to be said that the script is really the star of the show, though goodness knows Coogan tries to bring the focus onto ‘me, me, me’. 

Starring Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Keeley Hawes, Shirley Henderson, Dylan Moran, David Walliams, Naomie Harris, Kelly Macdonald, Mark Williams, Roger Allam, Ashley Jensen, Ian Hart, James Fleet, Gillian Anderson, and Stephen Fry, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is a very refreshing and clever film that’s filled with romance, sex, complications, and comedy. I found it very enjoyable and would recommend it to the more quirky and offbeat audiences.