The Martins (2001)

Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Don't Believe the Hype

A Brilliant Conflict

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

absolutely brilliantly played by Lee Evans, he reminds me very much of a person i know from south east London. a tremendous believable, enjoyable comedy. i think it works on all levels, maybe it depends on what reality you have experienced. first class acting from all main characters, as they make a real connection with the characters they are playing.the funniest scene has to be the one where Robert ties up the prize winners and is delayed because he is rushing round making sure they are comfortable.well worth purchasing this film to watch again and again.

Robert Martin is unemployed, a bit of a geezer and always on the scrounge – whether it be benefits or entering every competition he sees. When he loses out on a dream holiday he believes he is due, he flips out and uses a mate's gun to get a bit of respect from those he feels have wronged him just because of who he is. While the police follow up a series of bizarre reports of gun crime involving a Chav, Robert also finds out that a mate is coming out of prison with the knowledge that Robert slept with his wife. The pressure to get any holiday and get out of town with his dysfunctional family gets to him.Although it goes to extremes with the plot, this film is still an enjoyable look at a typically Chav family where you can hardly see the people past the shouting, drinking and generally antisocial behaviour. Grounds' script works well because he doesn't try to make us like them (because most of the UK don't) but he does enough with them to let us see them in good light and bad – both as products of their environments as well as causing their problems for themselves. This means the drama works well even though it is stretched at points by the action, because it is the characters that we are here for.As such it is the performances from Evans and Burke that make it work so well. Viewers moaning about how they should be funny and how disappointing the two were have simply missed the point. It is their convincing portrayal of a Chav couple in love that makes it work so well; they allow their characters to be convincingly rough but also give room for believable soul-searching whether it is spoken or just in quiet moments. They work well together and individually. Without the thought the rest of the family are Chav clichés, albeit convincing clichés. The support cast are good enough to judge the couple without it being too heavy handed or judgemental. I can understand why viewers moan and complain about how it isn't funny enough, because they have just listened to the marketing department that pitched this as a trashy comedy, but trust me when I say that the performances drive this film and make it as engaging as it is.Not the sort of thing that will travel well outside the UK but it is an effective drama that takes a fair and balanced look at a typical Chav family. Yes the plot has to go to extremes to move it all along but it is the characters where the film is and they are worth watching for not only because of how well written they are but also how good the serious work of Evans and Burke is.

No redeeming features, without doubt the worst film I have seen this year.I find it hard to put my finger on exactly what makes it so bad. I guess the overall premise of the film is pretty dire to begin with; "Black comedy about a scrounger who decides to steal the tickets for an all-expenses-paid trip to the Isle of Man when he fails to win the holiday sweepstakes." - hardly inspiring stuff.It's badly written, you can't empathise with any of the characters as they are universally hideous. You can't laugh at it, as none of the attempted jokes (if you can even spot them) are funny.Other people on here seem to find the film funny. I guess it's a matter of taste, but if you aren't enjoying this film after 10 minutes, don't waste your time, it doesn't get any better. Go and do something else instead.

Lee Evans plays the head of the Martin family, Robert in this low-budget Brit 'comedy'. The director and screenwriter, Tony Grounds, manages to squander Evans's Chaplinesque talents, and comedic grossness of the female lead, his wife (played by the talented Kathy Burke) who palyed to great effect in another low-budget Brit movie "This Year's Love".There are no funny quips, no amusing side-plots and no opportunities for Evans to show off his amazing face-pulling and physical humour which was used so well in the Hollywood 'Mousetrap'.The screenplay is a mean-spirited view of lower-class life in Hatfield, an innocuous, middle-England new town which is depicted herein as a hot-bed of scum and low-life.The characters are almost too realistic in that respect, but have no redeeming features or quirks that make them appealing. See, for example Mike Leigh's "Life Is Sweet" starring Alison Steadman for an example of how it can be done successfully.I have seen Evans live on stage, and I know how good he can be, and how much the UK public adore his self-depreciating candour. He swears a lot as a matter of course, but this film contains at least 20 minutes of "f***ing" out of its 86 minutes running time, and even manages a "c**t" for good measure (written down as well just in case you missed the verbal expletive.)Highlights of the film: - 14-year old daughter giving birth on the toilet - Lee Evans pulling a gun on his son's teacher and saying 'I hate f****ing teachers' - Lee Evans pulling a gun on an elderly rich couple and saying 'I hate f****ing rich old people' - Lee Evans pulling a gun on a newspaper editor and saying 'I hate f****ing liars' - Lee Evans pulling a gun on his next door neighbour and saying 'I f****ing hate people who look down on me' - Next door neighbour on the other side saying 'You f****ed me last week and I've told my husband' - etc. etc.Lee has reportedly said that he was looking forward to shedding the mullet hair cut and burning it on the film's completion. I should think he is also looking forward to burning all the prints of the film...A Smith London UK