Pretty Good

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Blistering performances.

I first saw this film in the early 70's when I was still in my teens. I remember it was called Gypsy Girl (the alternate title) and was a great and touching story. However, I just purchased the film from a Professional Source and it is missing the song Gypsy Girl, sung so beautifully by Hayley Mills. I think it set the stage for the story just wonderfully. In the 80s it aired on Life Channel and the song was there. My VHS was a little snowy, which prompted me to purchase a new DVD of it. Well, the one I just received does not have the song and is called Sky West and Crooked. I think either title is clever, but the song was lovely. Wonder if anyone has an inkling of why it was missing.That said, I loved the touching romance between Brydie and Roiban. I would love to have seen more of their romance and finally getting together. The vicar was very kind and wanted the best for Brydie.

SKY WEST AND CROOKED is an engaging and long-forgotten little movie, the sole film directed by John Mills. His daughter Hayley stars in the lead role of a young girl disturbed by the childhood death of her best friend, and she gives an interesting, unusual performance here. She's at that awkward phrase, right at the cusp of adulthood (and unrecognisable in comparison to her all-grown-up role in 1968's TWISTED NERVE) but still resembling the Disney starlet of the early 1960s.This is a film of lyrical beauty, finely judged but perhaps too subtle for modern tastes. It's a film which mixes humour, psychological depth, and romance, and it features a matinée idol performance from a very youthful Ian McShane who also shines. Animal lovers will enjoy the film's handling of the more sensitive moments, while it also captures a rural slice of life in England in the 1960s, for all its good and bad sides. The likes of Laurence Naismith, Annette Crosbie, and in particular Geoffrey Bayldon are all very good in support.

I did not much care for this film the first time I saw it, but a second viewing created a more favorable impression. The acting is very good all around, particularly from the talented Hayley Mills, who holds my attention at every moment that she is on screen. Ian McShane, too, is quite convincing as the young Gypsy man, Roibin. Also deserving of special praise is Geoffrey Bayldon as the vicar. For a change, it is nice to see a church pastor portrayed in a positive light. The direction (John Mills) is always acceptable and at times much more than that. The fleeing of Brydie White is nicely handled with swiftly moving camera and quick cuts. Close-ups are very effective indeed, especially of Brydie, Roibin, and Rev. Moss. I love the way Hayley Mills invests her character with tiny facial mannerisms that almost certainly were not in the script. For example, watch her while Brydie is recuperating in the wagon's bed. Her look of confusion when she wakes up, views her surroundings, and later tastes the hedgehog soup is so real and convincing! She is just a brilliant and captivating actress who is able to make her roles come to life in a believable way. Hayley is, of course, utterly beautiful throughout every frame of the film, and it is no wonder why the Gypsy would be so smitten by Brydie's charms. The acting of village children is rather a hit and miss proposition, sometimes quite good and often impossibly amateurish. Plaudits, too, for Brydie's lovable canine companion, "Dog," whose real name is "Hamlet." Be sure to see the image gallery, which is one of the DVD's bonus extras. It contains lots of black-and-white shots from behind the scenes. Several show Hayley Mills's father (director John Mills) and mother (writer Mary Hayley Bell) during the days of production. Not a perfect film, by any means, but if you liked the far superior "Whistle Down the Wind," you will probably find something to enjoy here as well.

An emotionally backward girl falls for a local gypsy. Coming-of-age film relies on setting (1960s British countryside) and strong character development for charm. Sure direction steers away from sappiness and holds interest despite the thin plot. A fine companion to "Railway Children". (Rating: A-minus)