Dangerous Parking

June. 01,2007      
Rating:
6.4
Trailer Synopsis Cast

Noah Arkwright, a successful, hard living and indulgent independent British film director, finally decides to try and defeat the many addictions that are destroying him, his career and the people who care for him. But Mother Nature has other tests of strength and character in store for him.

Saffron Burrows as  Claire
Sean Pertwee as  Ray
Rachael Stirling as  Kirstin
Alice Evans as  Etta
Tom Conti as  Doc Baker
Peter Howitt as  Noah Arkwright

Reviews

Scanialara
2007/06/01

You won't be disappointed!

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FuzzyTagz
2007/06/02

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

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BeSummers
2007/06/03

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

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Haven Kaycee
2007/06/04

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

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shoolaroon
2007/06/05

I may be going overboard with the rating, but I would definitely give it no less than 8, and I want to encourage people to see this movie. I kind of rolled my eyes at the beginning as I thought it was a bit indulgent and over the top, but once the story got rolling, I was captivated by the lead character, British filmmaker Noah Arkwright, and his stumbling battle towards both sobriety and becoming a family man. Noah is so abrasive, profane and cynical, that while he's bitingly funny, at first you don't feel much sympathy. He reminded me of Gordon Ramsay. But when he's in the sober house and encounters the spirit of his mother, who died at his birth, I found myself deeply touched as well. We assume so much about people but it turns out we really don't know them at all and why they turned out a certain way. Noah meets the right woman and has a lovely child, but his past life of debauchery starts to catch up with him in the form of recurrent bouts of cancer. Even at its darkest this film never loses its humor or its humanity. The last half hour or so can be quite harrowing with Noah's medical treatments, but it's never depressing. The end is really, really well done and surprising, and really touched me. I don't think I will ever forget this film, and I'm eager to find my own copy now. A truly great film about addiction, sickness, spirituality, and the healing power of love.

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Armin Völckers
2007/06/06

In some ways Peter Howitt's work of (undiluted) genius is a counterpart to Truffaut's "La Nuit Américaine", although it's kind of an updated version. Following the other reviewer's suggestion I would say it's the "Trainspotting" version of it. If there ever was a portrait of a filmmaker on film, this is it. This film should be required watching for everybody who loves films and who wants to know how it is to make one. And yet it's so much more. It's a huge portion of life squeezed into 110 minutes of yours. It's amazing, it's f.....g brilliant (as a German I'm hesitant to use swearwords, but hey) it's a ride-of-a-lifetime it's so much more than in my humble words I would ever be able to describe. I watched it in Tokyo on the film festival and one hour after I left the screening I started to cry, in the middle of a crowded street. Or no, I laughed and cried at the same time. Actually I thought they might arrest me, but nothing happened. Maybe they felt pity for me, or thought people do that in Europe - but what they didn't notice was, it was a GLORIOUS crying, because I realized, in an instant, how wonderful it is to be alive. What a film.

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Alistair Newlands
2007/06/07

What an unexpected Gem, British film making minus Danny Dyer minus Guy Ritchie minus Colin Firth = ' Excellent ' … Don't switch off after the first 5 minutes as this could be our typical British flop. Narration,, freeze frame ,, loser introspective rewind, loads of swearing, attitude, over use of flashback etc However the film draws you in . And succeeds through the bombastic central performance from its lead Peter Howit through the effective use of narration and non chronological story telling, all too often exploited in modern cinema On reflection this is a modern day shakespearean tragedy .. A triumph in modern cinema which succeeds in making you laugh whilst conveying a very sad and poignant message of one mans search for redemption With a raw honesty served on a plate of hilarious self destructive loathing the narrator introduces his world of drug fuelled decadence with at times hilarious results, before his admission to rehab in an effort to resurrect his life . The latter part of the film turns decidedly dark and is at times difficult viewing so be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster.. Try and imagine Ivan's XTC meets Trainspotting meets Witnail and I ? I !A MUST SEE

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Red-earth
2007/06/08

I must say that coming out of the screening for Dangerous Parking is one of the rare occasions where I have genuinely been 'moved' by a film, so I think that coming out saying "I really enjoyed it....It was a great movie....What a great performance etc etc" now seem like stock and clichéd responses to a film that deserves so much more.I find it hard for anybody who has lived, loved and lost, not to be profoundly moved and affected by Dangerous Parking. It is one of the most honest, real, raw and beautiful films that I have ever seen about the human condition, warts and all. Peter Howitt gave a performance that was, to most Oscar nominated male leads, what junior school nativities are to RSC performances. He gave a blistering, acerbic, and - in more ways than the literal - naked, performance. It demands to be noticed and acclaimed.

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