293. The Last Bus; movie review

 

THE LAST BUS

Cert 12A

86 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate sex references, sex, discrimination, implied strong language

You have to love Timothy Spall. Ever since he was Barry in Auf Wiedersehen Pet 40 years ago, he has treated us to characters who have admirable depth.

Here he brings extraordinary life to a movie which, in other hands, could have been perceived as being boring.

Spall plays Tom, a gentle widower, who is determined to fulfil a promise to his wife to return to their home of decades earlier.

They had moved to John O'Groats from Land's End early in their marriage because it was the furthest place they could go after tragedy struck.

He decides to make the trek on public transport as a reminder of their initial journey back in the day.

He uses his pensioner's bus pass which means he only has a limit of ten to 15 miles on each trip and on the dozens of trips, he encounters the best and worst of human life.

There are several different geographical settings to Gillies MacKinnon's movie and it is rather stereotypical that the confrontations happen in the inner cities while there is warmth in the country.

Fortunately, the former trend is bucked by a couple of particularly heartwarming interventions.

Aside of being a showcase for Spall's great talents, The Last Bus gives a rare glimpse of real life in Britain in a feature film.

Indeed, is so bathed in reality, it could become the type of film which represents the 2020s in the way that there are classic movies which reflect previous decades.

It is a relatively slight but nonetheless enjoyable movie.

Reasons to watch: Timothy Spall at his best

Reasons to avoid: Not high on action

Laughs: Three

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

`

Did you know? In 2008, Richard Elloway became the first person to travel free from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on local buses which became possible with the introduction of the national bus pass scheme. It was a journey that took one week, six hours and ten minutes and involved getting on and off nearly 40 different buses.

The final word. Timothy Spall: "It takes him on a surprising journey which he hadn't anticipated in any way but in the long run is pretty good." The Upcoming

Share this post