Ben Wheatley made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the excellently understated DOWN TERRACE and then went on to direct the sublime horror KILL LIST in 2011. Both these films subverted the typical Hollywood themes of organised crime and hitmen, stirring them up with sardonic British wit.

With SIGHTSEERS Wheatley brings two lead characters, created and performed by Alice Lowe and Steve Oram, into the spotlight. Fleeing from her overbearing, bizarre mum, Tina (Lowe) escapes to the wilds of Yorkshire with newfound lover Chris (Oram) for a caravanning holiday, exploring the lesser known tourist attractions of the North. However, when a bit of careless driving leads them to accidentally kill a fellow tourist, they both develop a taste for the blood of annoying fellow sightseers.

Unlike similar Bonnie and Clyde inspired films, this is not about them and their hell-for-leather run from the cops…

Oram and Lowe have been working on stage with these characters for years and the bond is evidently strong. Chris and Tina are a wonderful couple. Wholly affectionate without ever appearing soppy or cutesy, their relationship is believable and truthful, with levels of authority always fluctuating. Unlike similar Bonnie and Clyde inspired films, this is not about them and their hell-for-leather run from the cops. The police are rarely mentioned and Tina and Chris never seem scared of apprehension. They go about the gorgeous scenery and obscure museums at their leisure.

It’s cliché to talk about the ‘setting being a character’ but Wheatley has wonderfully captured the contrasting warmth of Yorkshire with the dark, desolate mountains. Similar to the BBC’s The Trip, SIGHTSEERS shows us a side to Britain that we’ve always known was there but never seen. There’s a blissful comfort and satisfaction in attractions like ‘The Crich Tram Museum’ and ‘The Cumberland Pencil Museum’ which further endear us to Tina and Chris’s simple nature, making their often brutal killing spree almost totally forgivable and childlike.

As with all of Wheatley’s films, there is a reliance on spontaneity and improvisation in the performances, and this gives great naturalism to the moments of comedy, warmth and aggression in Tina and Chris’s relationship. Once again, Ben Wheatley has stripped down well worn ideas to their bare bones and imbued them with a rare wit and rawness.

Look out for our interview with Ben Wheatley next week.

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