Four Eyes

Paul Hunt sells windows, not just any windows, but Big Al's windows, they're brighter, whiter and let in more light than their competitors and if you sign now they'll be completely installed within two weeks ready to brighten up your life! Paul has just been mugged on the way to work, and a thousand pounds filched from his wallet that he needed for deposit on a new flat for his new family and at this point he's willing to do anything to get his commission, including wearing glasses he doesn't need, smoking dope he doesn't want and kissing the arse of his boardroom dictator of a boss, Big Al.

Although the film is clearly a comedy, it is at the same time bleak; it is a very dark and particularly Scottish vein of humor running through it, showing the stresses of urban living and starting a family alongside the horrors of door-to-door sales. The two leads Duncan Finnigan and Wilma Smith as Paul and his girlfriend are excellent, fluid and believable, conveying the nuances of inner city poverty perfectly and carrying the comic moments with ease. They are strongly supported by the rest of the cast, especially Big Al (John Smith), the almost surreal and easily most unpleasant manager anyone could hope to have, embodying all of the things that people hate about door-to-door salesmen and being a complete bastard to his own workforce too.

As director, writer and star Duncan Finnigan is definitely someone to watch in the future, this is a great film made on a minuscule budget and shot entirely electronically, yet not bowing to the usual concessions of small digital productions. If you see only one piece of Scottish cinema this year you couldn't get much better than this.