I've watched a slew of arguably bad Euro-Horror and dull Arthouse drama this month and it's so refreshing to watch something which can tell a carefully crafted story in 70 minutes with the emphasis on good scripting, acting and characterisation rather than special effects, gore and ambiguity.
Scully's New Year's Eve is about a seemingly dull NYE party taking in a place in a modest working class home in Liverpool. We are introduced to Scully a 16 year old boy who wants to go to a "real party" with his dim-witted mate, Mooey. Scully's older brothers would be classed as Man-Children; Henry who hides in the loft playing with an electric train set and Tony who ignores his girlfriend to watch a TV broadcast of High Noon (this is before most people had a VHS players in their homes). For me the two stand out performances were Jane Freeman as the lady of the house and John Junkin as Jack; a father of a disabled child with an overbearing wife who keeps him under the thumb - being a comedian he brings a sadness to the role - "I'm 48, I'm a big boy and I want to run away from home again". A surprise appearance by Mick Miller who cracks jokes and says he is a comedian in clubs, but often dies - one of many ironic jokes. The main irony of the play being the pathos of adult characters who act like children.
The scenario is one anyone can relate to. Anyone who has had to put up with relatives they don't like, anyone who has been a teenager and felt trapped under their parent's supervision, anyone who feels they should be having fun at a party, but felt miserable.
The film was successful enough to have a spin-off TV series commissioned called Scully. Sadly, Scully's New Year's Eve isn't as widely available and is rarely repeated on TV or streaming services possibly partly due to music clearance. It is excellent and shows what a good script and acting can achieve while still being surprising and profound. It's also a real shame that most dramas the BBC puts out now are either historical dramas, crime or dramedys (that are neither funny or dramatic) rather than slice of life dramas with relatable characters and scenarios. It's also better than Abigail's Party which it suffers comparisons to.
Scully's New Year's Eve is about a seemingly dull NYE party taking in a place in a modest working class home in Liverpool. We are introduced to Scully a 16 year old boy who wants to go to a "real party" with his dim-witted mate, Mooey. Scully's older brothers would be classed as Man-Children; Henry who hides in the loft playing with an electric train set and Tony who ignores his girlfriend to watch a TV broadcast of High Noon (this is before most people had a VHS players in their homes). For me the two stand out performances were Jane Freeman as the lady of the house and John Junkin as Jack; a father of a disabled child with an overbearing wife who keeps him under the thumb - being a comedian he brings a sadness to the role - "I'm 48, I'm a big boy and I want to run away from home again". A surprise appearance by Mick Miller who cracks jokes and says he is a comedian in clubs, but often dies - one of many ironic jokes. The main irony of the play being the pathos of adult characters who act like children.
The scenario is one anyone can relate to. Anyone who has had to put up with relatives they don't like, anyone who has been a teenager and felt trapped under their parent's supervision, anyone who feels they should be having fun at a party, but felt miserable.
The film was successful enough to have a spin-off TV series commissioned called Scully. Sadly, Scully's New Year's Eve isn't as widely available and is rarely repeated on TV or streaming services possibly partly due to music clearance. It is excellent and shows what a good script and acting can achieve while still being surprising and profound. It's also a real shame that most dramas the BBC puts out now are either historical dramas, crime or dramedys (that are neither funny or dramatic) rather than slice of life dramas with relatable characters and scenarios. It's also better than Abigail's Party which it suffers comparisons to.