Robert Carlyle is one of the great character actors of his generation, and it's quite surprising that it's taken him this long to make his directorial debut, especially as he directed for the stage in the past.
Probably best known for his roles in UK movies Trainspotting (1996) and The Full Monty (1998), in recent years he's joined the army of film stars who've moved to TV, playing Rumpelstiltskin in the bonkers ABC fantasy drama, Once Upon A Time. The Legend of Barney Thomson is obviously something more of a labour of love.
Carlyle's directorial debut is ll the more more impressive for the fact that he appears in nearly every frame. He plays the eponymous Barney in what is in essence a grimy black comedy about a Glaswegian barber whose mundane existence is transformed when he accidentally kills his boss, just as he's about to be sacked for boring customers.
With a serial killer already on the loose, the local cops begin sniffing around the barbers, with Barney unsure of his next move. The locations such as Barrowlands add authenticity and the cast - Emma Thompson, Ray Winstone, Ashley Jensen, Tom Courtenay - is both on its game and familiar, The Legend of Barney Thomson ultimately lacks a telling verbal punch.
The performances will keep you engaged, though. Carlyle is pitch-perfect as the accidental killer, while Emma Thompson - just two years Carlyle's senior - dives into the role of Barney's mother. There are typically in-yer-face performances from Ray Winstone and Ashley Jensen as duelling cops, and Tom Courtenay laps it up as their acerbic boss.
While it's as good as most British independent films of recent years and certainly better than a lot, with a sharper script they'd have had a future classic on their hands. Still, it's a very promising start to Carlyle's behind-the-camera career.
John Byrne
