That was an excellent one.

A different way of telling a story

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

What an unusual composition - begins like a story about a girl, then the focus shifts from her to the guy she longs after, until another guy shows up in the second third of the film and becomes the main character whose destiny revolves around the said girl... sounds like a full circle and ends like a train wreck, but thoroughly enjoyable to watch. There's no "main" character and all the characters are flawed which is why the film is unsettling. There's no one here to root for and the characters are likable because they are well played. Which is also unsettling. What makes the ending so sad are some funny and tender moments in the film that reveal three- dimensional characters who inspire understanding and even sympathy. One hopes they will pull through. Even Hugh Grant's character with no redeeming qualities is hilarious enough to be forgiven. The sex scenes are great. I want to be Stella stuck in a damp room with Alan Rickman. The abrupt ending leaves the story unfinished, but that' life. I would cut out all the flashback scenes that seem like they don't belong in this movie. Other than that, I like the atmosphere and the whole look of the film.

That's how you should look at it. TBH I skipped a lot of scenes because I was looking forward to Alan Rickman and I couldn't bear listening to the dialogue, it was hard to understand their accent, and somehow the feeling was weird. However, I gotta say this movie has a lot of symbolism, as someone put it perfectly on a comment in youtube, of how Potter is Peter Pan who seduces lost boys, of Stella as Wendy who sadly escapes her childhood in a very very twisted way and O'Hara as Captain Hook whose actor usually play both Captain Hook and Wendy's father. I have never been a fan of Peter Pan, that thing is just so creepy and it annoys me the idea of that selfish little pretty boy. This movie annoys me as well, the feeling is too personal it's almost weird to see those ugly things reenacted on screen. Not a lot of people get the deeper layer of meaning of this movie if they don't see the relationship between the play and the movie itself. I would not like to see O'Hara as a child molester even though he seems to be. The dark side of the industry I believe. Girls are expected to be slutty very, very soon; and though it's kind of disgusting O'Hara took her but he had a reason indeed, and that reason turned out quite nasty later on. Very, very sad indeed. I'm quite confused when it comes to talk about rating this movie. It is terrific, but it's too dark, too angst, too depressed - not that these qualities mean it's bad like a lot of usual audiences would think - I think usually people expect the light at the end of the tunnel, but with all respect to reality and in connection with Peter Pan, sorry Wendy has to grow up. And life can be quite nastier than you think. It is just, very depressing. But still a deep and high quality movie. But controversial, indeed.

It is insanely perverse of New Line Home entertainment to tout this downbeat film as a 'warm-hearted comedy'.I didn't know what to expect from Mike Newell. He's made films of all genres and has recently made the Hollywood set with The Prince of Persia, though it was a bit of a flop, but still...I liked his Enchanted April a great deal and Four Weddings and a Funeral had its charms and was very mainstream. So I had hopes of liking An Awfully Big Adventure as well. I was also curious to see the only film adaptation of a Beryl Bainbridge novel. I wasn't prepared for An Awfully Big Adventure being so strange and just plain weird. This film boasts a splendid cast of actors, many of them long past their primes but then so are most of the characters in the movie. The technical credits, music, cinematography and script are fine, the acting, as stated, is superb, but this is one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. The story is neurotic, childish and yet strangely touching, chock-full of Catholic suffering and self-flagellation. The characters are drawn beautifully and the overall point of the story is well-taken, the devastation of war on human psyches and all that, but the ultimate point of the story, incest, is a shocking and seemingly irrelevant side swipe that threw this viewer's mind off center. I waited for something deep to be revealed but the film simply stops with the sudden incest angle. It's your basic sordid tale of a troupe of has-beens on their last legs in a Liverpool theatre. The young girl, Stella, is extremely odd and doesn't seem to possess a shred of innocence that I think we were supposed to think she possessed. She's naïve to be sure and inexperienced but innocent, no. And fantasy life borders on the psychotic. I have no doubt she ended up either a nun or a whore.Georgina Cates gives a pretty great performance though she's very difficult to understand more often than not and I have been watching British/Irish/Scotch films for years. She trips over many of her lines in a self-conscious way, part of her character perhaps. Alan Rickman is not quite as mush-mouthed as he usually is but I still don't understand the wild passion of his deathless legions of fans. I find him very boring most of the time, but he can pull out some moments of high drama when called upon to do so.Hugh Grant actually does the most convincing job of acting. His old pansy stage director with his nicotine-yellowed fingers made me squirm; a simply awful person.There are two splendid performances by Nicola Pagett and Carol Drinkwater as the two fading beauties in the troupe of actors; the former a love-sick tragedienne and the latter a hopeless, sex-starved drunk. And Peter Firth returns to the big screen in a quietly humorous and yet pathetic stage manager, Bunny. In his subtle way Firth steals the show whenever he's on screen.No, this is not a warm-hearted comedy. It is a nasty tale with a heart of latex.Having said all that it's worth seeing as an oddity. I could not give it less than 5 stars because the over-all quality of the production and performances is so very high. It's just Beryl Bainbridge's dark, sad story that leaves a pall. Maybe, in time, I will come to view this as some kind of minor masterpiece, but I doubt it.A very odd viewing experience. No wonder it flopped in America. This kind of socialist, down-trodden banging-on doesn't even get off the ground in a free society.

Well, this movie has definitely changed my views on Alan Rickman. He just blew my mind with his passionate performance...there isn't another to explain it.Now the plot was very complex so you did need to see it more than once to get the gist of every little twist. I'll tell you there are allot of twists in this movie. But thats what makes it a must see.I recommend this movie to anyone thats in need of a good slap in the face. I know that I sure did.