Not Another Happy Ending  (2013)    70/100

Rating :   70/100                                                                     102 Min        12A

A Scottish romantic comedy completely sold by the natural charisma of its two leads – the lovely Karen Gillan and brooding Frenchman Stanley Weber. Gillan plays Jane Lockhart, a first time novelist enjoying the fruits of her labour despite the liberties taken by her publisher, Weber’s Tom Duval. When writers block strikes for the finale of her second novel, Tom decides the reason must be that she has become too happy and resorts to making her miserable as the only logical course of action.

Set in Glasgow, the film feels alive and accessible throughout and even features the good old British tradition of pub quizzing as a central plot device (the ultimate prize of a trip to Disneyland is not quite so traditional), though other plot devices such as a fictitious character coming to life in the mind of Jane feel a little bit superfluous. At times, there is a loose quality to the way scenes play out – rather like if you were to film something with your mates without rehearsing it much before hand, but this quality invites the audience in and gives the film a real and original feel to it. With Gary Lewis and rising stars Freya Mavor (‘Sunshine on Leith’), Amy Manson (‘Outcasts’) and Iain De Caestecker (‘Marvel – Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’) in support.

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