Making tracks
OFF THE RAILS Cert 15 ★★★
In cinemas now
Sally Phillips, Jenny Seagrove and Kelly Preston go Interrailing. No, I’m not describing the latest Channel 5 documentary series, but the plot of the latest feel-good Brit flick.
When Anna (Andrea Corr in a fleeting cameo) died from breast cancer, she bequeathed tickets to doctor Liz (Phillips), actress Cassie (Preston) and journalist Kate (Seagrove) so they could repeat (and this time complete) the booze-fuelled European odyssey they embarked on when they were students. There’s just one stipulation: Anna’s place will be taken by her 17-year-old daughter Maddie (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips).
While Maddie will see the delights of Paris, Barcelona and Mallorca through the first flush of youth, her companions will have to party through the hot flushes of the menopause.
Although based on director Jules Williamson’s experiences, the script sticks closely to the itinerary of the comedy drama. On this road trip on tracks, there will be mishaps, romance (courtesy of
Franco Nero and, of all people, Ben Miller), and the airing of dark secrets.
The performances are excellent and there are some sharp lines: “The menopause has 32 symptoms and I have 34,” says a flustered Liz.
The tragic death of Preston (this was her last film before she died from breast cancer last year) is hard to ignore and an early funeral scene is a tough watch. When Judi Dench, playing Anna’s mum, delivers a touching speech about a life taken too early, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the sprightly American.
Menopause has 32 symptoms and I have 34, says a flustered Liz