Midlands is all over the place. But if you can handle a movie that slips from the silly to the sublime--and can understand those thick Brit accents--you might feel at home with this tale of a woman (Shirley Henderson) torn between two men. After Notting Hill's Rhys Ifans proposes to girlfriend Henderson on a tacky Sally Jessy Raphaël-type show--and is rejected, her seedy old flame Robert Carlyle strolls into town to win her back.
Amidst the conflicts of the heart, there is weird stuff, like when Carlyle holds up a van full of clowns. And the confusing changes in the film's overall tone don't help ground it much, either. Yet, the experienced cast is a good one, and it rides the waves of change well. Subtitles would've been nice, though.