Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

The story of a rebellious factory worker who is just out for a good time but gradually is forced to face the consequences of his actions; I rather enjoyed this film. Essentially this is a Rom-com but made during the British New Wave so nothing pink and fluffy here; pure realism. Interesting to see a light-hearted romance played out in the real world, or as close to it as we’ll ever get onscreen, and the serious consequences in the story give it a bittersweet quality. The theme is extremely relevant now, and increasingly so. Our culture is so focussed on the ‘Saturday Night’ state-of-mind with no thought for the ‘Sunday Morning’ which will inevitably follow. This needs sorting out, as I’m sure it did in 1960, and it is important to raise awareness of the warning communicated in this title. We need more films like this…

Funnily enough 17 Again is a film that does this to some extent. There is a particular scene where Zac Efron’s character expounds on the advantages of abstinence to his teenage classmates, which is communicating this same message somewhat unexpectedly but rather effectively. I must admit I was rather impressed! If only The Hangover had added its tuppence worth to continue the good work...