HAPPY NEW YEAR, COLIN BURSTEAD Official Competition | BFI London FIlm Festival 2018

The director and stars of Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, which is in the Official Competition at the BFI London Film Festival 2018, talk about their film. Colin (Neil Maskell) has rented a stately country home for his extended family’s New Year celebrations. He’s the centre of attention – though not always pleasantly so – until his estranged brother David (Sam Riley) unexpectedly arrives. His appearance, after a five-year absence, throws the family dynamic far off orbit. Wheatley’s skill with drama and characterisation has been in evidence since his early features Down Terrace and Kill List, but it’s a delight to see it go full frontal here, brought to life by an ensemble so uniformly good it makes name checking only a few feel perverse. (Although Joe Cole, Mark Monero, Charles Dance, Hayley Squires, Asim Chaudhry, Doon Mackichan and Bill Paterson have particularly meaty roles.) Shot in under two weeks, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. has the dynamism and veracity of early Dogme 95, with Wheatley, his actors and regular cinematographer Laurie Rose achieving a thrilling symbiosis. Do we have enough booze? Who’s got the tunes? Who invited her? What is uncle wearing? Anyone who has lived through an increasingly drunken and disastrous big family ‘do’ will hoot – and cringe – in recognition. Subscribe: Watch more on BFI Player: Like us on Facebook: Follow us on Instagram: Follow us on Twitter: