Review by Blair MacBride
Directed by: Ninian Doff
Starring: Rian Gordon, Viraj Juneja, Lewis Gribben, Samuel Bottomly, Eddie Izzard, Kate Dickie, James Cosmo, Alice Lowe
Get Duked! can only be described as the most outlandish film to grace screens since 2018’s Sorry to Bother You. While at times the movie breaches the realms of sanity, Ninian Doff’s comedy-horror hilariously triumphs as his debut feature. The film is set deep in the Scottish Highlands and is centred around a group of three misfits - Dean (Rian Gordon); DJ Beatroot (Viraj Juneja); and Duncan (Lewis Gribben) - who befriend a good egg (Ian - Samuel Bottomly).
Apart from Ian, who looks to bulk up his CV with extra-curricular activities, the group attempt to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award* as a punishment for abhorrent school behaviour. Along the way, however, events take an almost incomprehensible turn as their journey to earn their award becomes filled with wackiness, hip-hop loving farmers, "hallucinogenic rabbit shit," and a battle of survival against blood thirsty aristocrats.
[ READ MORE: New Release Review - Tenet ]
With the mystifyingly odd yet brilliant plot aside, the unlikely rag-tag quartet shine through as they take their centre-stage roles of the feature. Just as for their director, Get Duked! is collectively their first feature film venture too. That said, Gordon, Juneja, Gribben and Bottomly offer stellar performances in their introductory foray into cinema. The four not only share a surplus of humorous dialogue, but also a chemistry which is reminiscent of that created by the foursome in the cult classic Stand by Me. Although the story is notably different in almost every way, crazy scripts such as these rely on strong leads to propel them out of mediocrity and into the memorable - this quartet undeniably succeeds in fulfilling that duty.
The movie’s small cluster of established stars adds a significant depth to this indie as well. James Cosmo plays the principal hip-hop loving farmer, while Eddie Izzard’s ‘The Duke’ and Georgie Glen’s portrayal of his on-screen wife, ‘The Duchess’, make for an amusingly creepy duo of antagonists. Kevin Guthrie, too, is hysterical as the misfortunate PC Hamish. Throughout Get Duked!, each of these actors makes clear their spirit to get on board with the eccentricity of the plot, which, in turn, gives the entire film an effective cohesiveness and continuity of laughter that may otherwise have been missing without them.
[ READ MORE: New Release Review - She Dies Tomorrow ]
At the same time, Doff’s entertaining yet bonkers script is the real backbone of this feature. To those non-Scots who give this film a go, some sequences might be more than difficult to verbally understand, with the combination of quickly spoken Scottish slang and muffled dialogue. Indeed, the film’s concept itself is unequivocally berserk. Nonetheless, Doff’s witty writing and effective direction enables you to simply relax into your seat. The script has a well-balanced story, is paced to perfection with an effective build from beginning to end, and succeeds at delivering the right degree of both humour and horror.
Wonderfully comical at times, difficult to fathom at others, Get Duked! is a hilariously unique shock to the system. One thing is certain though; do not expect a run of the mill film. On the contrary, be prepared to tap into your wilder side of cinematic adventurism.
*The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a youth awards programme founded in the UK in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The award recognises young people for completing a series of self-improvement exercises.
Get Duked! is on Amazon Prime Video from August 28th.
"If there's a reason to watch Hope Gap, it's to see Bill Nighy afforded a rare chance to play a proper character."— The Movie Waffler (@themoviewaffler) August 23, 2020
HOPE GAP is in UK/ROI cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema from Friday.
Read @hilliseric's reviewhttps://t.co/Z6yh67h6L9 pic.twitter.com/lT7l66XD2i