The Midnight Drives is a 2007 British comedy-drama film

Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...

 written and directed by Mark Jenkin

Mark Jenkin

Mark Jenkin is a British filmmaker, editor and writer based in Cornwall .-Career:Mark Jenkin first came to notice when he won the Frank Copplestone First Time Director Award at The Celtic Film & Television Festival in 2002 for his debut film Golden Burn...

 and revolves around a divorcee who takes his bored children on a series of mystical, dream-like excursions through the Cornish country-side after initially failing to connect with them.

Cast

• Colin Holt as Andy Stafford
• Alex Reid as Sophie
• Mary Woodvine
  Mary Woodvine
  Mary Woodvine is a British actress who appeared as Mary Harkinson in EastEnders in 2003. Her father, John Woodvine, is also an actor.She has also appeared in Doc Martin, Born and Bred, Casualty, Pie in the Sky, Down to Earth and Heartbeat. In 1994 she played the role of Aurelia Took in Space...
  
   as Cafe Owner
• John Woodvine
  John Woodvine
  John Woodvine is an English stage and screen actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles.-Early life:...
  
   as Guesthouse owner
• Sam Mills as Casey Stafford
• Megan Robertson as Gabrielle Stafford

Production

The film was made by independent film company O-Region and had Pippa Best on board as producer. It was filmed at various locations around Cornwall including Land's End

Land's End

Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....

, Marazion

Marazion

Marazion is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the shore of Mount's Bay, two miles east of Penzance and one mile east of Long Rock.St Michael's Mount is half-a-mile offshore from Marazion...

 and Penzance

Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

.

Release

The Midnight Drives premiered in the UK at the Cornwall Film Festival

Cornwall Film Festival

The Cornwall Film Festival is an annual festival started in 2001 which focuses on Cornish film making, offering local and national premieres, and hosts masterclasses, workshops and discussions for everyone from the enthusiast to the professional.The festival supports Cornish film making in the...

 in October 2007 to a packed house and was subsequently selected for the London Film Focus

London Film Festival

The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...

 and Ecran Britanniques festivals as well as the Celtic Media

Celtic Media Festival

The Celtic Media Festival, previously known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations on screen and in broadcasting. The festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting and film from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall...

.

Critical Reception

Derek Malcolm

Derek Malcolm

Derek Malcolm is a British film critic and historian.Malcolm was educated at Eton College and Oxford University. He worked for several decades as a film critic for The Guardian, having previously been an amateur jockey and the paper's first horse racing correspondent. In 1977, he was a member of...

, film critic for The Evening Standard commented on it as "A moving film about parentage with an exceptional performance from Colin Holt at its centre".