Cemetery Junction is the second film of the week that really sounds like it should be a horror movie and isn't. Instead, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's film is about young people growing up in Reading in the early 70s. In particular it deals with young Freddie, desperate not to follow in his factory worker father's (Gervais, in a refreshingly small role) footsteps and trying to make it as a life insurance salesman. Things are complicated by the fact that he's falling for his boss' (Ralph Fiennes) daughter who is engaged to an uber-salesman (Matthew Goode) and his best friend Bruce keeps getting into fights due to his father issues.
Where things go from there is really all quite predictable in terms of story right down to the last minute dash across town a la standard rom-com. There's also too much of the Gervais-Merchant humour that anyone who's not a fan will just find cringe-worthy. The cafe owner and Merchant's cameo in particular could have been written out at no loss whatsoever to the film.
On the other hand, there are other moments that are genuinely funny and few that have real emotion. Its helped by having a tone that underplays key moments rather than over-playing them and really helped by the presence of Emily Watson as Fiennes' wife, an actress who can convey more with a look or a half-smile than many can with a whole monologue. There's also a nice feel for period detail and a really cracking soundtrack.
Overall - 6.5/10 - a bit of a mixed bag, but more good than bad, lifted by some strong performances and a wonderful soundtrack.
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