Tom Edmunds’ directorial debut is an enjoyable black comedy with a flaw
Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back) is the feature debut film from screenwriter-director Tom Edmunds, a black comedy which had its world premiere at Emden-Norderney Film Festival and is now showing at Rome Film Festival, in the Official Selection.
The film is a black comedy about the meaning of life and death, with a starry british cast including Tom Wilkinson, Aneurin Barnard, Freya Mavor, Marion Bailey and Christopher Eccleston.
Barnard stars as William, an alienated young writer who’s never been published. His unsuccessful life led him to suicide several times, but all his attempts have failed. Williams’ latest idea is to jump off a bridge, but his project is suddenly interrupted by a man who hands him a mysterious business card. In couple of scenes we get to know that the man is Leslie, played by Winkinson, a professional assassin who kills people who want to die. The two men schedule a meeting and, after a short conversation, William decides to sign a £2000 “death contract” with Leslie: if William is not dead within a week, he will have his money back.
Unfortunately, things can’t be that simple: in less than 7 days, William finds a publisher for his debut novel and meets a girl that he really likes. As he reconsiders suicide intentions, Leslie is having a hard time doing his job.
Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back) is deeply rooted in old-fashioned british comedy and has an engaging start: the premise is bizarre and the first sequences are full of brillant jokes and absurd situations. As the story progresses, the big comic moments decrease and the narrative becomes less absorbing.
In a black comedy without frills, screenplay and performances are essential: Edmunds selected a fantastic cast but in the second part of his film the actors can’t lean on a solid script. Fortunately, the film regains energy in the last minutes with a bittersweet final scene which is worth watching.
In short, Dead In A Week (Or Your Money Back) is a respectable and (most of the time) enjoyable work. However, with a better screenplay, Edmunds can bring the genre to its full potential.
