Midlands Review of All Roads Lead to Home

midlandsmovies • March 24, 2024

All Roads Lead to Home


Directed by Darren Scott


Positive Space Pictures


2024


All Roads Lead to Home, the latest feature from writer and director Darren Scott, is a feel-good comedy/drama that follows two aspiring musicians – Amy (Imogen Archer) and Matt (Frederick Szkoda) – who meet when both are going through a calamitous period of their lives and embark on a road trip together to find themselves.


It’s a bit of a bumpy path to get into film. Despite the excellent performance from Imogen Archer, who carries the opening segments, much of the scripting feels a touch too broad; exaggerating the calamities that befall Amy to the point where it strips a little bit of the pathos from the film.


The film recovers, eventually becoming a well-made, if predictable, platonic dramedy about embracing our wants and needs. But there is a sense that Scott had the middle and end of his film planned out perfectly and struggled with the opening gambit of bringing the two leads together.


Once the dissatisfied and jilted Amy eventually meets grieving, down-on-his-luck musician Matt their chemistry together binds the film. It’s easy to get drawn into the pair’s budding friendship and Matt’s earnest desire to follow in his parents’ footsteps provides a gentle, entertaining backdrop.


As All Roads Lead to Home is focused on the musical aspirations of its leads – as much as their own personal growth – the soundtrack plays a key part in the enjoyment of the role. Luckily, it’s here where the film really shines. The songs, primarily written by Darren Scott and Jason Havard, are genuinely good, and performed well by the cast.


The tracks avoid the cloying, tweeness of similarly musical films like God Help the Girl (Stuart Murdoch, 2014) and instead go some way to drive the narrative forward.


As we build to the finale, there are a few roadblocks. Primarily these are some bizarre choices for the character of Matt, including checking Amy’s phone, which happens twice but is never believable. While no doubt designed to highlight his insecurities, the excellent performance from Szkoda negates much of this.


It’s possible that the script would have benefited from some minor tweaks, especially after seeing the chemistry between the two, and instead had Amy’s own feelings towards her cheating ex – which have been built up more fully – drive the temporary wedge between the two leads.


Still All Roads Lead to Home is a gentle and satisfying film on balance, which achieves pretty much everything it set out to do. Once the plot is fully underway, it overcomes the more artificial-feeling conflict points and, honestly, it’s a joy to see two actors having so much fun on screen. The performances of Archer and Szkoda truly lift this film.


★★★


3 / 5


Matthew Tilt

Twitter @Matthew_Tilt


For more info check out the film's website and also the trailer below.

www.allroadsleadtohome.com

By midlandsmovies April 26, 2025
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer  Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
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