Rag Tale (DVD)

A fantastic cast, great plot and storyline, shame it's totally unwatchable.

In an attempt to create an 'artistic' film, the director decided to use every technical film effect in the book. The result? Camera work with constant zooming, panning, and irrelevant close ups (at the start we are subjected to a close up on someone's hand!) There is also pointless flicking between colour and black and white, and hence the need for sunglasses to protect the eyes from the strobe lighting effect.

A lack of proper research into the newspaper world meant that those old hackneyed cliches about tabloids beginning every editorial conference with the phrase 'who are we going to get this week?' were patronisingly regurgitated again in Rag Tale.

This film would also have you believe the other myth that all tabloid hacks are drug abusers, alcholics, etc, and rub their hands together with glee every time they get to inflict misery on others. This would be forgiveable if only the dialogue wasn't so laughable, and irritatingly slow in parts.

This film apparently, is the first in amorality trilogy from director Mary McGuckian, and if Rag Tale is anything to go by, the next two will be an absolute waste of time, too.