Film Review – Swede Caroline (2024)
Welcome to the wonderful world of giant vegetables! There’s something quintessentially English about the idea, a world populated by the kind of loveable eccentrics spawned by the Ealing comedies and where the trivial assumes gargantuan importance. The Caroline of the title, however, dedicates herself to growing mega marrows rather than swedes – which puts a small question mark over this mockumentary’s sense of direction.
Caroline (Richard Lumsden) more determined to win the cup and other competitors know she’s a force to be reckoned with. Despite keeping her plants under lock and key, some of them are stolen, and the rest have to be hidden elsewhere. When Paul’s efforts to track down the culprits come to nothing, it’s down to Caroline to solve the mystery – and uncover some unexpected local skullduggery.
For their debut feature, directors Finn Bruce and Brook Driver (Driver also wrote the script) have tapped into the English love of the absurd to create an affectionate mockumentary with a mischievous twinkle in its eye. Maybe it’s a throwback to those rudely shaped vegetables in TV’s That’s Life, but there’s a definite sense of comforting nostalgia about the film, coupled with a more contemporary affection for spoofing docs. With much of dialogue improvised, the cast are given free rein to create characters who aren’t just funny but come complete with a touch of sadness. Hartley’s Caroline has a constant air of resignation about her – her stock answer to a problem is a shrugged “what can you do?” – while her adoring neighbour Willie (Celyn Jones) will do anything to make her happy. And Lumsden’s Paul, with his addiction to conspiracy theories and solving crime via internet chat rooms, is so close to the edge that he threatens to topple over at any moment, in the style of a certain Torquay hotelier.
As a tongue-in-cheek look at, shall we say, extreme gardening Swede Caroline is joyously comic, ramping up the ridiculousness and shining an almost brutal light on the characters’ lack of self-awareness. It’s when it moves onto the plot behind the theft and everything else that follows that things become a little more awkward. It’s still blissfully silly, but the laughter level drops and, despite the committed cast, the action seems to run out of steam. But for the most part, it’s a giggle-fest – and, in case you’re wondering, a swede does find its way into the story, even if it’s come from Caroline’s garden. It does make you wonder if one of the possible monikers for her wannabe championship marrow – yes, they give them names! – might have made a better title. Marrow-lyn Monroe!
★★★1/2
In UK cinemas from 19th April / Jo Hartley, Richard Lumsden, Celyn Jones, Aisling Bea, Fay Ripley, Alice Lowe / Dir: Finn Bruce, Brook Driver / Picnik Entertainment / 15 |
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