Rent Papadopoulos and Sons (2012)

Watchable and Fun North-London-Set Greek Cypriot Drama - Papadopoulos and Sons review by PV

I really enjoyed this film. It was genuinely original, though perhaps could have been a TV drama. The director/writer is clearly drawing on lived experience - and the street featured is just like the ones I knew when I lived opposite Palmers Greek, I mean Green, in north London! Many Cypriot immigrant families in north London - most Greek but also Turks, as at Wood Green.

Is is believable? Not really. These Saul on the road to Damascus do OCCASIONALLY happen in real life, but not often. Very rich people tend to stay very rich and will do anything to keep it that way! BUT it is a story and fiction, so...fine. It's fun! Nonsense but fun.

I saw the end twist coming miles off, from act one actually. So many PLANTS in the early film re the geek boy in the family playing the stock market.

SO best to see it all as a fantasy, or IMAGINERY REALITY - there are roots in the real world here, yes. Despite the morality-tale-cum-fairytale which follows.

The actor Stephen Dillane stars here with his real-life son who, to be fair, is not the spitting image of him, no more so than the daughter. All actors do well.

The Greek-Turkish beef (or doner lamb/mutton) gets referenced. Though I do wonder how many Muslim Turks marry girls from Greek Orthodox families.... How many Muslim families are happy for daughters to marry non-Muslims? Yes, for the sons, so long as the wife converts to Islam. That is the sad reality. There is a GREAT deal of bigotry, racism and faith hate amongst London's and Britain's multicultural communities - often hidden when ethnic/faith groups are in a minority. When in a majority as in certain northern English towns and cities, then we get separate societies, ethnic and faith enclaves living by their own rules and values and not integrating into British or Western culture. Just watch the news. Any decade.

SO do not overthink this. Do not worry or fuss about the ethnic stereotypes (especially as ALL stereotypes are based on truth even if just part of it or an outdates truth - just see how white Brits are portrayed as Imperial bowler-hatted gin-swilling racist stereotype buffoons in ALL Asian and Bollywood).

I liked the amoral financier characters - so close to reality, it is scary. Though no way did I believe the character arc and journey of the woman who was supposedly employed to work for the accountant firm. Fairytales like that just do not happen. People - male and female - in the City wallow in their amorality out of pure greed and self-interest. My lived experience, that.

I also LOVE the fact it was self-funded, so no state subsidy from BFI BBC FilmFour etc - which these days would lead to preachy woke sermons and colour-blind casting. This low budget British film mostly avoids that (except a bizarre scene of some hawker selling household goods door to door - which happens in the suburbs, though does not tend to happen when huge houses with long drives and big gates are on a street!)

The ending is eye-rollingly silly slushy (NO SPOILERS) BUT it is actually very Hollywood movie and MAMA MIA so many will love it, no doubt.

So flawed but watchable and yes, original. Reminded me a bit of another semi-autobiographical self-financed film, SIXTY-SIX (2006).

If the ending were less toe-curling it would be 4 stars. 3.5 stars rounded up.