Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007)

Expected more

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I am always blown away by how Tom Hardy uses his voice & body to become a character, fictional or non-fictional. I can't wait to see another film with him in it...I've seen 'Mad Max:Fury Road', 'Dark Knight Rises', 'Inception' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', twice apiece. 'Legend' I have seen three times. He is an actor you just can't stop watching. I am very puzzled in the above list of plot keywords: pubic hair? male frontal nudity? Why are those the terms listed, instead of :alcoholism, addiction, friendship, childhood trauma? I do agree with the person who stated this a film most people should see. Addiction has a vice-like grip on large numbers of the globe at this time. This film could open eyes to how to navigate the social issue of addiction.

The first reel of this film is very deceiving: you might well think that it's a kind of dramedy, a clichéd story of a do-gooder yuppie activist expanding his horizons and finding his humanity through an acquaintance with a very quirky homeless man. But it's absolutely nothing of the sort. To judge by interviews with BBC producers, the director, and writer Alexander Masters, the final film matches the intentions they had from the start, to make something that wasn't easy and which captured this man Stuart Shorter in all his complexity.Master's script is really compelling & tight. But it's the actors who drive the film: Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy together, more often than not in fairly tight sets merely talking. They were already both masters, back when this was filmed. Tom Hardy's role here bears a vague resemblance to his work in Nicolas Refn's film Bronson; though I'd say that this film is even bleaker and more harrowing than Refn's. The eruption of Stuart's pain and self- hate is shocking, and Hardy doesn't ever hold back. The performance compares well to that of Robin Williams' in The Fisher King. In both cases, the actor enters a state that shocks you into concern for them rather than sitting in admiration of a modulated performance. This is an incredibly bleak and brutal film, without the comfort of its having been a fiction.

This was a very touching movie. It tells the story of a man who, through a series of misfortunes throughout his life, has turned to crime, drugs, and violence. Despite Stuart's checkered past he proves to be a deep and compassionate person who you really can't help but become endeared to. The most heartbreaking thing is learning how this child was abused and somewhat pushed down the path of failure that he encountered. It really says a lot about the state of welfare, mental health care, and social services in society. Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch were both excellent. Tom Hardy especially has proved to be an extremely transformative actor in every role I've seen him in and I look forward to seeing him in more things in the future.

This is the first time I've commented on IMDb but this film deserves to be seen by more people so I thought I'd give it another positive review. To begin with I thought Tom Hardy, who played Stuart, turned in an excellent performance and I'm sure we'll see plenty more from him in the future. Despite being a knife-wielding, psychopathic, booze hound even from the beginning, I felt empathy for his character, its hard not to. All of the acting is as good as the script allows but Hardys performance just shines through. However its really the story, told backwards, thats the reason this is such a enchanting film. Having read the book a couple of days ago i can also add this film, refreshingly, is very true to, and just as good as, the book. I've no idea if it was on TV or has been released on DVD, but if you get the chance watch this film, its thought provoking, heart wrenching, enthralling, funny, stomach churning, touching and it will be an eye opener to a lot of people.WATCH THIS FILM!