Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
Encyclopedia
Once Upon a Time in the Midlands is a 2002
film directed and co-written by Shane Meadows
and set in an anonymous town in the Midlands
. It was filmed on location
in Nottingham
.
) proposes to his girlfriend Shirley (Shirley Henderson
) on TV. When Jimmy (Robert Carlyle
), "the great love of her life" and father of her daughter, sees this, he returns in an attempt to win back her heart. However after deserting his friends in Scotland
during an unsuccessful robbery
of some clowns, his friends turn against him and come to the Midlands
to try to track him down. Though in the end Shirley refuses to go with Jimmy & professes her love for Dek after her daughter Marlene refuses to have anything to do with Jimmy and is only ready to accept Dek as the father figure.
2002
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
film directed and co-written by Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
and set in an anonymous town in the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
. It was filmed on location
Filming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
.
Plot
Dek (Rhys IfansRhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
) proposes to his girlfriend Shirley (Shirley Henderson
Shirley Henderson
Shirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...
) on TV. When Jimmy (Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
), "the great love of her life" and father of her daughter, sees this, he returns in an attempt to win back her heart. However after deserting his friends in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
during an unsuccessful robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
of some clowns, his friends turn against him and come to the Midlands
English Midlands
The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...
to try to track him down. Though in the end Shirley refuses to go with Jimmy & professes her love for Dek after her daughter Marlene refuses to have anything to do with Jimmy and is only ready to accept Dek as the father figure.
Cast
- Robert CarlyleRobert CarlyleRobert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
- Jimmy - Vanessa FeltzVanessa FeltzVanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
- Herself - Ricky TomlinsonRicky TomlinsonEric Tomlinson , known by his stage name Ricky Tomlinson, is an English actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Bobby Grant in Brookside, DCI Charlie Wise in Cracker and James "Jim" Royle in The Royle Family....
- Charlie - Kathy BurkeKathy BurkeKatherine Lucy Bridget Burke is an English actress, comedienne, playwright and theatre director. She is best known for her portrayals of Perry in the Harry Enfield film Kevin and Perry Go Large, and of Linda La Hughes in the British sitcom Gimme Gimme Gimme...
- Carol - Vicki Patterson - Audience Guest
- Shirley HendersonShirley HendersonShirley Henderson is a Scottish actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Moaning Myrtle in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire .-Early life:...
- Shirley - Finn AtkinsFinn AtkinsFinn Rosanna Atkins is a British film, television and stage actress.-Early life:Growing up in Clifton area of Nottingham, Atkins attended Greencroft Primary School, Farnborough School and High Pavement College...
- Marlene - Kelly Thresher - Donna
- Rhys IfansRhys IfansRhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
- Dek - Andrew ShimAndrew ShimAndrew Shim is a British actor best known for his appearances in the films of Shane Meadows, especially This Is England.-Early life:...
- Donut - Ryan Bruce - Emerson
- Eliot Otis Brown Walters - Lake
- Anthony Strachan - Jumbo (as Antony Strachan)
- David McKay - Dougy (as David Mckay)
- James CosmoJames CosmoJames Cosmo is a prolific Scottish actor, with numerous credits in film and television since the late 1960s and Cosmo is still currently acting. Cosmo was born in Clydebank, Scotland, the son of actor James Copeland...
- Billy
Awards
Gijón International Film FestivalGijón International Film Festival
Gijón International Film Festival was created in 1963. It was born as an initiative of the local authority and it was sponsored mainly by Gijón City Council and the then Caja de Ahorros de Asturias ; both institutions are still the main organisers of the festival, along with funding from the...
2002
- Nominated: Best Feature (Grand Prix Asturias) – Shane MeadowsShane MeadowsShane Meadows is an English film director, screenwriter, occasional actor and BAFTA winner.-Background:Meadows grew up in the Westlands Road area of Uttoxeter, Staffordshire. His father was a long distance lorry driver and his mother worked in a fish and chip shop...
External links
- Once Upon a Time in the Midlands at Sony PicturesSony Pictures EntertainmentSony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
- Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
film of the week.