The Nan Movie

The Nan Movie (originally conceived as This Nan's Life) is a 2022 British comedy film written by Catherine Tate and Brett Goldstein and directed by Josie Rourke (uncredited).[1] The film stars Tate and Mathew Horne. It is based on the television series, Catherine Tate's Nan, which is a set of four specials that were broadcast between 2009 and 2015, and itself is a spin-off of the television sketch series, The Catherine Tate Show (2004–2007). The film centres on the eponymous Nan character who travels cross-country to visit her dying sister, and includes several flashbacks to their upbringing and early adulthood.

The Nan Movie
Theatrical release poster
Written by
Produced byDamian Jones
Starring
CinematographyChristos Karamanis
Edited by
  • James Taylor
  • Liam Hendrix Heath
Music byMichael Bruce
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • 18 March 2022 (2022-03-18) (United Kingdom & Ireland)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.1 million

Plot

Foul-mouthed and cantankerous London woman Joanie "Nan" Taylor's (Catherine Tate) grandson, Jamie (Mathew Horne), takes her to see the dying sister with whom she had a falling out when they were young women. Nan would rather just have a good time, however, and the road trip features many comedic detours alternated with flashbacks to the sisters in their youth.

Cast

Production

In early 2019, it was first announced that Catherine Tate would be reprising her role of Joanie Taylor, who first appeared in the sketch series, and subsequently, the spin-off series, for a feature film. The project, directed by Josie Rourke of the 2018 biographical drama, Mary Queen of Scots, announced via Instagram that the film would be titled This Nan's Life.[2][3] Matthew Horne reprises his role as "Nan"'s long-suffering grandson, Jamie, as well as Niky Wardley, another well-known performer within the original series, and Katherine Parkinson. The film is written by Tate and former collaborator Brett Goldstein.[2] Warner Bros. holds the distribution rights in the United Kingdom.[2][3]

After initial filming, the film was retooled substantially. The film largely took place in 1940s London. Those scenes were scaled back and new footage, greatly expanding the modern-day road trip sections, was filmed without Rourke at a low-cost, with animation sequences also used to fill any gaps.[4]

The film was scheduled to be released on 19 June 2020,[5] but was indefinitely postponed due to cinemas being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] The trailer and poster for the film were released on 18 February 2022 with Josie Rourke receiving an executive producer credit and no director credited.[7] The film was released on 18 March 2022.[8] As a result of "technical reasons", Pete Bennett's role was reduced to a brief appearance.[9]

Reception

Box office

The Nan Movie was released on 18 March 2022 in 514 cinemas across the United Kingdom and Ireland.[10] The film's theatrical gross on 4 May 2022 was $2,165,386.[11]

Critical response

The film received a resoundingly negative reception from critics.[12] On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, The Nan Movie has an approval rating of 0%, based on 13 reviews.[13] The Guardian described it as "brutally unfunny",[14] giving it one star out of five, The Telegraph as being "as interminable as it is revolting",[15] also awarding 1/5, while the monthly film magazine Empire was slightly more positive, calling it "a mostly unfunny attempt to wring long-form laughs from a character who works better in short doses",[16] awarding 2/5.

Bleeding Cool commented on the film's disjointed narrative,[17] with the flashback scenes described as "a thoughtful, beautifully shot period piece set in London during the war", while the much more dominant present-day plot is a "dull-looking road trip from London to Ireland filled with boring, tedious irrelevant distractions that hurt the brain." The site's original review of The Nan Movie was entitled "Finding A Much Better Film Within",[18] and commented on how no director is credited despite collaboration from Josie Rourke, who has previously directed historical dramas and stage plays. The Guardian's critic also commented on the relative quality of the flashbacks as compared to the other material.

The later article states that, according to its sources, when the original cut of the film was presented to its backers in 2019, the backers were uncomfortable with the wartime storyline. They requested that it be heavily cut to accommodate much more of the present-day plot with the elderly Joan Taylor, whom fans of The Catherine Tate Show will recognise. A good deal more of this material was then cheaply and hastily shot to replace the cut footage.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
National Film Awards 4 July 2022 Best Comedy The Nan Movie Nominated [19]
Best Supporting Actor Mathew Horne Won
Best Screenplay Catherine Tate and Brett Goldstein Nominated

References

  1. "The Nan Movie, and the strange case of its missing director credit". Film Stories. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  2. Edwards, Chris (10 September 2019). "Here's your first look as Catherine Tate's Nan movie". Digital Spy. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. Brew, Simon (11 September 2019). "The "Nan" movie is going by the name of This Nan's Life, it appears". Film Stories. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  4. Johnston, Rich (20 March 2022). "Gossip: What Really Went Down With Catherine Tate's The Nan Movie". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  5. Mustafa, Filiz (15 October 2019). "Catherine Tate's Nan movie finally lands an official release date". Digital Spy. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  6. Hogan, Michael (23 April 2020). "Yes, we are bovvered: why Catherine Tate needs to return to TV". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 June 2020 via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  7. Johnston, Rich (17 March 2022). "Is Catherine Tate's New Film The Nan Missing a Director Credit?". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  8. The Nan Movie - Official Trailer - Warner Bros. UK & Ireland. 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. "Catherine Tate apologises to BB star for cutting Nan Movie scenes". Digital Spy. 1 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  10. "UK Box Office Data". boxofficedata.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  11. "Nan: The Movie (2022) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. "Catherine Tate's Nan Movie panned in reviews". Digital Spy. 18 March 2022.
  13. The Nan Movie, retrieved 2 December 2022
  14. "The Nan Movie review – brutally unfunny outing for Catherine Tate's sweary old lady". TheGuardian.com. 18 March 2022.
  15. Collin, Robbie (18 March 2022). "The Nan Movie, review: Catherine Tate's 'comedy' is as interminable as it is revolting". The Telegraph.
  16. "The Nan Movie". 18 March 2022.
  17. "Gossip: What Really Went Down with Catherine Tate's the Nan Movie". 20 March 2022.
  18. "The Nan Movie Review: Finding a Much Better Film within". 18 March 2022.
  19. "Winners of the 8th annual National Film Awards 2022 announced". 5 July 2022.
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