‘SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER’: A SLOW MOVING DRAMA THAT’S COMEDY LITE

There’s always those films you see and intend to watch when they’re still considered a new release. Sometimes Always Never is one of these, however, until just recently, I didn’t make that happen.

Sometimes Always Never (2018) Film Review

Making puzzles or games of Scrabble his life means Alan (Bill Nighy) has always got his phone close by. Currently he’s playing someone who’s quite good, and reminds him of the stylings his son, who has been missing many years now, would play. Along with his other son, the one who’s still there, Peter (Sam Riley), the two of them travel to a coroner’s office to see if an unidentified body may be that of their missing brother and son.

When it’s not, Alan clings to the hope that his son is still alive, somewhere, and that he may be as close as his next Scabble opponent.

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This is one of those films that is unquestionably British. By this I mean, modern British films have different beats than American comedy, and as a result, this one probably won’t appeal widely to an audience. It’s slow moving which is one thing and fine, but its greatest misstep is in not really introducing us to anyone. Rather the storytellers just assume we know who everyone is and the why of what they’re doing. The latter does get explanation but mostly, we just have surmise either because we’ve learned movie cues or from the synopsis. 

The film does have some heart if you can scratch away at everything else. The film is a lot of quiet and scenes of characters kind of “sitting” in the moment whether this be because of contemplation or something else. There does develop an unexpected and kind of sweet bond between Alan and his grandson, but it’s not really fully stretch in the way I expect.

Most who like this style of film or just dramadies in general may enjoy this. The cast is pretty impressive between Nighy and Riley, who played Darcy in Pride + Prejudice + Zombies. Plus, you’ll also see Jenny Agutter as well. So yeah, a dang good cast. This isn’t something I’ll be likely to re-watch. But I’m glad I know what it’s all about and finally saw it. It’s not the high scorer on the board, but if you want something that’s quiet and mostly simple, you may like this 2018 film.

You can find Sometimes Always Never digitally on Amazon Video; at publication it’s with Prime

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Content: there are some sexual references, and a man is discovered to have had sex during an afternoon dalliance (implied). There is some minor profanity but it’s very minimal.

Photos: Hurricane Films