What we did on our holiday
The film’s plot centres around a family trip to the Scottish
Highlands to celebrate what is likely (and indeed turns out) to be the last
birthday of the main character Gordy, an eccentric free spirit beautifully played
by – who else? – Billy Connolly. The basic conceit is that the children are
sworn to secrecy about the fact that their parents – Doug (David Tennant) and
Abi (Rosamund Pike) are going through divorce proceedings following the former’s
infidelity, but want to keep all this quiet to avoid upsetting the family apple
cart. Inevitably however, it’s not long before the ‘secret’ is out and tensions
start to rise. As the weekend progresses and the hosts begin to work themselves
into a frenzy over every last detail of the planned party, Gordy and his three
younger grandchildren head off to the beach (cue wistful highland music!) for a
day of carefree fun and adventure. Liberated from the oppressive atmosphere of
their rowing parents the kids, egged on by their granddad, get the chance to
really let their hair down. There are lovely scenes here, including the sight
of the oh-so-sensible Lottie discovering the joy of hurtling along the beach at
the wheel of the Land Rover as Gordy tells her to “live more, think less”, a
mantra which strikes a keynote for the whole film. For me, these scenes are
where the film really works. The relationship between Gordy and his
grandchildren is very touching. He clearly respects their natural honesty and he in turn confides his hopes and fears
in a way that parents rarely feel able to do with their offspring. But
then suddenly the happy family tableau develops into something altogether more
sombre and we move away from ‘Outnumbered’ territory. After one hilarious ‘false
start’, Gordy decides to shuffle his mortal coil just as the kids have finished
burying him in the sand. The children decide they want to give their beloved granddad
the funeral they think he would have liked – a Viking warrior’s funeral (as
Lottie points out with unerring logic: “cos he had to fight cancer, right?”).
They decide they can dispense with the help of the grown-ups – who in their
eyes are completely useless anyway – and set about with great ingenuity constructing
a vast funeral pyre, eventually launching Gordy’s burning body so that it can “float
to Valhalla”. The second half of the film deals with the repercussions of this
event and shows the various adult members
of the family being forced to put aside their differences and work together to
avoid a complete breakdown of everything they hold dear.
The film was written and directed by Andy Hamilton and Guy
Jenkin, creators of so much golden comedy and credited with perfecting the art
of ‘out of the mouths of babes’ humour with their immaculate BBC comedy series ‘Outnumbered’.
But where that series tapped into the humour that derives from the minutiae of
everyday family life, this film explores broader issues such as dishonesty,
betrayal, death. Yes, it’s funny but also tinged with sadness. Sadness that two
people who once loved each other can cause themselves and their children so
much anguish, sadness that there is no magic wand to cure nice people of bad illnesses,
sadness that people do and say horrible things to the ones they love most.
There is no glib ending where the parents get back together (“for the sake of
the kids”), but the final scene is redemptive. The various family members ‘wise
up’ to their failings, Doug and Abi undergo a rapprochement, the best is made
of complex situations. In short, people learn an often painfully learned truth:
that sometimes you just have to put differences aside when there are more
important things at stake.
The casting is excellent: Tennant is perfect as Doug, Rosamund
Pike does well as the hurt, betrayed wife and Ben Miller does what he does best
– the cold, repressed, nerdy character of Uncle Gavin was just made for him! Then
there is the delightfully nutty Auntie Margaret (played by the always excellent
Amelia Bullmore) and Celia Imrie, whose portrayal of lemon-sucking officialdom is
always a hoot, makes a wonderful child protection officer. And though a small
part, we mustn’t forget to mention poor, shy Kenneth – cowed by his high-achieving
father but man enough (when love beckons) to grasp the chance to ‘make sweet
music’ when a winsome fellow violinist comes his way at the wake! And the children?
Well, they steal the show completely. Lottie, the ‘student’ (quite literally) of
adult life, wise little Mickey, and the youngest, Jess (a mini-version of Outnumbered’s
Karen), are sweet without being cloying. Their refreshing naturalness is
endearing and they frequently upstage the adults throughout this film!
I really enjoyed this film. It had lots of great
dialogue, plenty of laughs and was often thought-provoking. If you are still
not sure if you fancy it, take a look at the trailer:
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