Paul Dood’s Deadly Lunch Break

Heroes, as they say, don’t always wear capes. Actually, Paul Dood (Tom Meeten) does sometimes wear a cape, but that’s beside the point. The point is, he’s not what most people think of as a hero. He’s not bold, muscular or conventionally good looking. He’s not even young any more. But Paul has devoted his life to looking after his dear old mum and doing his best to be nice to everybody he meets – all without losing sight of his dreams. Now he’s about to embark on the biggest adventure of his life, transforming the lives of everyone around him over the course of a single lunch break.

Being at the centre of a manhunt is not the kind of stardom Paul envisaged for himself. All he ever wanted was to show the world his skill as a singer, dancer and performer. The natural route to this seemed to be through the talent show hosted by Jack Tapp (Kevin Bishop) on social media platform TrendLadder. When his effort to reach the contest is impeded by the officiousness, cruelty and pettiness of strangers, however, Paul is pushed over the edge. He pictures himself carrying out a terrible revenge. What follows doesn’t quite go to plan, but to say more would be to risk spoiling one of the cleverest and most entertaining comedies of the year.

Getting this kind of comedy to work is extremely difficult to do and Nick Gillespie deserves serious praise for what is only his second feature, co-written with Brook Driver and Matthew White. Meeten is excellent in the lead and there are a host of great supporting performances from the likes of Mandeep Dhillon, Steve Oram and Alice Lowe. As you might expect given its title, the film contains a few gory moments but it wouldn’t make sense to classify it as horror. At its core it’s a gentle story, full of heart and endearing rubbishness; it just has a bit of a body count.

Screening as part of 2021’s Fantasia International Film Festival, this is a film with a bit of an Alan Partridge vibe but a much more personable central character. Its understanding of the cultural milieu within which it’s set is spot on, and it has a sharp eye for the small acts of malice through which people take out their frustrations, as well as for the delusions that help them cope. It’s full of smart observations and even if you usually have no time for people like Paul, you’ll be cheering for him by the end.

Not so much a little guy against the system story as a little guy against other little guys who haven’t got the memo one, this is a beautifully paced, insightful comedy which, for all its ostensible modesty, seems likely to head straight to the top of the ladder and remain a favourite for years to come.