Stylish but barely mediocre overall

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Nick Whitfield's 'Skeletons' could be described as a very ambitious film; or it could be described as a mess, the work of people with plenty of ideas but absolutely no idea of how to construct a coherent movie. There's a story about a cast of characters who seem to be playing bit-parts from a bad post-war sitcom; there's a story about psychic detectives, who have the ability to insert themselves in and out of other people's lives; and somewhere in the chaos, there's meant to be (as far as I can tell) some kind of meditation on love and loss that the audience is supposed to take at least semi-seriously. But it's all shot on shoestring and with a self-conscious almost-campness that means it feels more like a bunch of clueless people running about in a country house with a video camera than anything else. On the plus side, the score is quite well suited to the shifts in mood, but it's not enough to rescue the film.

Finally a modern film that isn't Hollywood and isn't by the numbers or tickboxes. Nobody is killed, no car chases, just two eccentrics with special powers helping people to get rid of their bad memories or skeletons in the cupboard, modern exorcists with humour instead of horror.The two actors are perfect for these two odd and squabbling characters. Two mates that look out for each other but also argue and get on each others nerves sometimes.It's perfectly watchable and enjoyable at all levels, though normally I can't stand that wailing type music which is overused in a lot of films and irrelevant it seems to me. Whereas the Eastern European music was a perfect fit.The only shortcoming I would say is that not enough is explained in the beginning about what they do or the retro equipment they use. Not everybody knows a lot about cleaning bad spirits and older traditional viewers will be a bit lost. The "boss" is kind of shoe-horned into the plot - again without much explanation or background context. We just have to fill in the gaps ourselves.Also the pairing at the end is not a very likely outcome though it is a logical conclusion to the previous events.Whatsisname's review is right - this would make a really good TV series.

I was really surprised upon watching this film on the BBC. It was intriguing and highly worth a view. The casting was great, and considering the low budget, the filming was superb and really drew me in. The suspense really builds up in the film and so you really don't know what to expect as the film progresses. I loved the rapport between the two male leads. I think it is one of the best British films I have seen in years. It is a shame that it didn't reach a wider audience, although I guess the humour wouldn't be to everyone's taste. I'm going to recommend it to all my friends to check out. I hope the writer/director makes some more films.

In an unspecified time and place, we follow the occupational hazards of Mr Davis and Mr Bennet (Ed Gaughan and Andrew Buckley), two psychic cleaners removing 'Skeletons' from their clients' cupboards via the use of antiquated ghost-busting equipment.Their work eventually leads them to the countryside doorstep of an eccentric middle class family who want to know the whereabouts of their missing father. Things start to go awry for the dynamic duo when they locks horns with mute, wayward daughter, Rebecca (Tuppence Middleton), and their bear-with-a-sore-flat-cap boss, the Colonel (Jason Isaacs), who grumpily intervenes on their assignment.Writer/director Nick Whitfield's feature debut is a real, genuine oddity, the like of which is all too rare in these dark days of CGI mush and 3-D bombastics. It's witty and engaging script contains enough twists, surreal flourishes and lovably offbeat characters to give the Terry Gilliams and David Lynchs of this world a slap about the creative chops, whilst asserting an individual freshness and authority that is indebted to no one.The long-running, real life stand-up-comic act of Gaughan and Buckley is a knockout coup for Whitfield, as the twosome's familiarity and natural chemistry with each other shines through no end giving their scenes a sincerity and depth that lesser films can only dream about. The uniformly excellent cast insures they're in fine company, with special mention going to Paprika Steen, whose off-centre turn in the role of mum Jane, is very affecting indeed.Zac Nicholson's sterling camera-work is every bit as inventive and ambitious as the story, injecting each and every frame with proper cinematic punch, mounting the film head and shoulders above the vast majority of British movies that too often settle for a visual style more suited to television than the big screen. On the downside, Simon Whitfield's unusual (sometimes inappropriately placed) score, is over used to grating effect, as are the moments featuring Gaughan's 'couch-trips' back to his childhood. This repetition of sound and images exposes the obvious budgetary restrictions, giving the piece some noticeable rough edges that it really doesn't deserve.That aside, this is one of the most charming and moving indie Brit-flicks since god knows when, and one that I urge everyone to see and support to insure a lengthy, and much deserved cinema run and DVD shelf-life. I had the pleasure & privilege of seeing 'Skeletons' with a Q&A session featuring the cast in London's west end recently, and along with the rest of the audience, was delighted to be candidly informed that the 'Skeletons' crew are about to regroup for a comedy set during WW1. Bring it on!