In “Sometimes Always Never,” rocker-turned director Carl Hunter plays with style and form the way his characters use letters in Scrabble. It’s a father-son road movie where words, whimsy, and comedy collide in surprising ways.
In the film, Bill Nighy and Sam Riley star as Alan and Peter, who are searching for Peter’s missing brother, Michael. Peter is far more mature despite being the son, while Alan is an immature father who spends more time playing board games than having quality time with his kids. We first meet Alan staring out to sea in a wide-shot that makes him look small and insignificant, feelings he grapples with while trying to reconnect with his estranged son of twenty years. He isn’t doing a very good job.
Alan’s attempts to make amends with Peter are beyond awkward, to the extent that one wonders—is Hunter, whose music is loud and brash, attempting a low-key version of Wes Anderson? Yes and no. All the bells and whistles are here. Even the smallest details of “Sometimes Always Never’s” set pieces have been made to resemble Anderson’s production design, down to the candy colors and random knick-knacks. But what sets this British comedy apart from Anderson’s films is the duo at its center.
Alan and Peter are somehow more odd than Anderson’s characters, talking in static, deadpan sentences. They never appear to be on the same wavelength. The root of that awkwardness is revealed during the trip. Peter, we learn, struggles with being second banana to a brother whose Scrabble skills earned him the nickname “prodigal son.” He’s never been able to impress dad with words, and so he’s since given up on trying. Alan continues to pry him about it, even after hustling a couple of broke hotel owners out of a fairly large sum of money in a game of Scrabble, which Peter finds disgusting enough to give up on paps all-together. Playing Peter’s frustration for laughs is equally despicable.
This approach takes getting used to and is not for everyone; a lot depends on your tolerance toward droll humor. If the idea of Nighy listing off synonyms for breasts (“bosoms, assets, bazookas”) doesn’t sound entertaining, this film isn’t for you. Although it is likewise hard to imagine anyone laughing at any of Peter’s misfortunes, which finds Alan showing up at the wrong place at the wrong time. There’s a charming quality to his attempts at making their relationship right. After the road trip hits a dead end, Alan comes to live with Peter without being invited. Ironically, it is after the driving stops that Hunter’s hyper-stylized visuals shift into gear, exploding with energy, animation, title cards, painted-on-backdrops; anything you can think of, Hunter throws it on screen.
Though the visuals are a huge draw, having a variety of actors with palpable chemistry brings “Sometimes Always Never” to life. Starting with Nighy, who somehow conveys longing under his stone-cold features, the quality performances include Riley’s sympathetic turn as Peter, Alice Lowe as Peter’s wife, Louis Healy as Peter’s son, and British vets Jenny Agutter and Tim McInnery as a couple on the road. All these actors play nicely off each other like letters on a Scrabble board, coming together to preach “it’s not about what we want, it’s about what we have” in the most eccentric way possible.
There’s no denying the influence of Wes Anderson on “Sometimes Always Never.” But even Anderson had to start somewhere, riffing on past greats like Jacques Tati, Ernst Lubitsch, and Francois Truffaut. Hunter, if he plays his cards right, could be next in a long line of whimsical filmmakers to inspire future generations. [B-]
“Sometimes Always Never” arrives in virtual cinemas on June 12 before hitting VOD on July 10.