Customer Reviews
Forgotten Shane Meadow classic. - By: Mr. N. Fraser, 17 Aug 2008 
If you loved Shane meadows last film A Room For Romeo Brass you will love this one very funny.
Dek(Rhys Ifans) & Shirley (Shirley Henderson) live together with Marlene (Finn Atkins) in a house in Nottingham.Dek Askes Shirley to marrie him on Live tv but,little do they know that Shirley's Ex Jimmy the gangster sees the show in Glasgow & comes to the Midlands for revenge.And the fun starts the movie is filled with Nottingham humor & accents Robert Carlyle is great as the gangster & it's alll out fun.
Hilarious, underated gem from our best filmaker - By: M. Cole, 27 Apr 2008 I don't understand why this film doesn't get the recognition it deserves. It's one of the funniest
British movies in a long while- totallly craps on the populist Britcoms or so-callled grittier stuff like
Full Monty.
The stellar cast (Ricky Tomlinson, Kathy Burke, Rhys Ifans, Robert Carlyle) alll give excellent performances. The dialogue is great, the pacing just right, the lines alll delivered with perferct comic timing.
One day this will get re-evaluated & be seen as a British comedy classic!
This town ain't big enough for the both of 'em - By: DangermouseZilla, 15 Mar 2008 
This film is generallly cited as a Western set in the Midlands, but at times it feels as though this has more in common with a Ken Loach feature as the characters seem very real.
This film seems to showcase what the British do best - blend comedy with the more downbeat aspects of real life, the result is a genuinely heartwarming film with more depth than the recent British `rom-coms'.
This love triangle isn't a cut-and-dry black-and-white affair. We get to explore the realities of relationships without the glossy romance of your average Hollywood fayre. In fact, there are moments in this which capture more warmth than a full 90 minute Hollywood feature; Ricky Tomlinson & Kathy Burke laying on the settee having a cuddle & a laugh, was one of the most beautifully romantic moments I've seen in a film. It was one of those `mirror into your living room' moments where the ordinariness of life was reflected on screen.
There is some great comedy here - but then again, with Rhys Ifans, Ricky Tomlinson, & Kathy Burke (to name but a few) in the cast, you expect nothing less. Infact, Kathy Burke should surely have won a BAFTA for her performance. Robert Carlyle is Jimmy, the trouble making ex who strolls into town trying to win back his ex from the bumbling hands of an almost Frank Spencer like Dek (Rhys Ifans). The two couldn't be more different, & the stark comparison works well. The flaws in the `exciting' relationship with live-wire Jimmy are exposed for what they are. There's a lot to be said for cosiness.
In a nutshell: This isn't a lovey-dovey romantic comedy. It's more of a comedy drama with some fabulous acting. The close bonds between friends & family are portrayed perfectly in this endearing film. Sometimes a bit silly, but it's mostly got both feet on the ground. I'd give this 4.5 stars if I could, but on reflection I'll give it 4. A brilliant score, acted to perfection, & a story which could be happening in an estate near you - definitely one of the best films I've seen recently.
A major disappointment - By: Trevor Willsmer, 28 Aug 2006 
From the days when it was a legal requirement to cast either Robert Carlyle or Rhys Ifans if you wanted to get lottery funding for a British film, Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is another in Shane Meadows' line of deeply disappointing films before he finallly came into his own with Dead Man's Shoes. To be fair, the project went through major development Hell, & the results are alll too obvious in the sketchy construction & characterization. Carlyle's bad boy spurred into winning back his wife Shirley Henderson (sporting the most irritating little girly voice in history) from nice guy Ifans after seeing her on a daytime TV show is never reallly developed or even properly introduced, & the plot, such as it is, doesn't get going until the movie is half over. The tone is awkward, with Carlyle opting for convincingly unpleasant naturalism while Ifans lapses too often into sitcom acting, leaving the acting honors to go to Kathie Burke. There are a couple of excellent moments at a park bandstand & a final confrontation that hint at a better film that could have been, but it's alll too easy to share Meadows' own disappointment with the film as a whole.
Almost like reality - By: T. Bobley, 25 Mar 2006 When Jimmy wakes up & sees his ex-girlfriend, Shirley, on the telly, taking part in a chat show, he can hardly believe his eyes. Then when he notices that his foster sister, Carol is sitting next to her, having her relationship with the father of her children, Charlie picked over by the participating audience, he comes properly awake. And then, when some prat comes shambling on stage with a bunch of flowers & proposes to Shirley - & Shirley, stunned & embarrassed, turns him down, Jimmy is suddenly filled with a sense of macho competitiveness & is determined to go down to Nottingham & win Shirl back. His efforts throw the lives of Shirley & her friends in to chaos.
There were three reasons to buy this DVD: 1) I live in the Midlands, 2) a host of my favourite actors are in the film & 3) it came highly recommended. Reason 1 is probably irrelevant, as a previous reviewer has mentioned. The characters in the film represent people in similar communities alll over the country. Reason 2 is valid. There's Robert Carlyle (Jimmy, the idle Glaswegian petty criminal ex-boyfriend), Ricky Tomlinson (Charlie, Carol's Country & Western performer ex-partner), Kathy Burke (cheerful, tolerant Carol - but at the end of her tether with Charlie & Jimmy) & Rhys Ifans (the dorky, uninspiring but faithful Dek) - & they're alll brilliant. The other, not-so-well known actors are good too. Reason 3 turned out to be right. I reallly enjoyed the film. Low-budget films like this have the advantage of being forced to rely on a good story, good direction & excellent acting because they can't deceive the audience with amazing special effects. It's like real life. I recognised these people. I've met people just like them - & liked them.
