Three and Out

Plot synopsis:
Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) accidentally runs a man over with his underground train, after the man is pulled on to the tracks by his dog. After a week off he kills a second passenger who falls onto the tracks after having a heart attack.
Before taking time off for the second accident his colleagues tell him about a little-known 'rule' at London Underground that no-one talks about: three 'under' within a month, and you lose your job - earning yourself ten years' salary in one lump sum. But being off for the next week means that Paul needs to find someone willing to kill themselves by the following Monday.
Paul sets about trying to find someone prepared to die under his train – and after hearing a report about Holborn Viaduct he comes across Tommy Cassidy (Colm Meaney) attempting to jump off. He grabs his hand and pulls him up but far from being grateful Tommy is angered by Paul's interference and moans about how "do gooders" will not just mind their own business, however upon hearing a police siren he agrees to get in Paul's car.
While in a bar Paul explains to Tommy that he will pay him if he is willing to jump in front of his train. Tommy is scornful asking what good will the money do him if he has to die. Paul says that he can have one last weekend of fun. Tommy however wants to do something meaningful.
Tommy agrees to his proposal and decides to spend his last weekend making amends with his estranged family.
Tommy hires a car and they travel to Liverpool. While there they find that Tommy's wife Rosemary (Imelda Staunton) and daughter Frances (Gemma Arterton) have moved to the Lake District. Paul tags along to protect his investment.
While in the Lake District Tommy meets with resistance from his wife and daughter. He reconciles with his wife, who reveals she has found a new man. Paul meets the daughter at a local pub and the two get drunk and sleep together.
On the Sunday morning Tommy tries to talk to his daughter and sees her in bed with Paul, then chases him over some hills before having a mild cardiac attack and being taken to hospital. Tommy and Paul leave to go back to London.
Paul tells Tommy he does not want to kill him and Tommy insists that he go through with it. On the Monday morning Paul is told by his colleagues that the "three and out" rule was a joke, and that there is no pay off. When the time approaches Paul sees Tommy on the tracks and stops and reports an "animal on the tracks". However, crying and recalling "a deal's a deal", Paul accelerates towards Tommy, who recites William Butler Yeats' poem Lake Isle of Innisfree as the train kills him.
Distraught, Paul sits at home then begins to write and changes the title of his novel to Three and Out, we see Frances receive a copy of the novel along with £10,000 which Paul had promised to Tommy. Hidden behind the cheque is the dedication "In Memory of Tommy Cassidy". Realising her Dad has died, Frankie breaks down in tears. She travels to London and meets Paul, they go deep sea diving with Great White Sharks, Tommy's last wish.

Tags: comedy, romantic

Review:
'Three and Out', a film largely based around a character wanting to kill himself, is in all its irony, genuinely heartfelt, compelling and utterly hilarious as both a dark comedy and a solid character drama.
Furthermore, despite the film's grim premise I was pleasantly surprised that much of it is done in a tactful and tasteful manner, taking time to develop plot and character substantially enough to transform the otherwise quirky gimmick into a solid piece of character drama that never lets down.
Sure enough this is by no means a perfect picture yet it certainly deserves a lot more praise than it has so far garnered; especially considering the ballsy themes and jet black tone which it adopts straight from the opening scenes.What makes the film as effective as it is lies heavily on its script which takes time to develop fully realised, empathetic and highly likable characters, complete with three dimensions and who are consistently engaging.
It's a hard thing to do no doubt, and although the balance of comedy and drama can shift rather drastically, for the most part they are blended together with great care, resulting in mostly flowing transitions between the two.
Yet thanks to the very careful, precise direction from newcomer Jonathan Gershfield, such usages are both emotively effective in the ways which you would expect from the themes, but they also manage to retain a sense of light-heartedness which can be rather disorientating from an everyday perspective, yet this is largely where dark humour draws its absurdities from, and it works brilliantly here.
Perhaps most enjoyable of all though is that it always feels familiar and genuine, with very little fabrication or contrivance to be found.Performances from the cast are terrific and are certainly one of, if not the greatest highlight of the feature with both Crook and Meaney conveying the tone of the film created through their characters perfectly, never coming off as over or underdone.
The supporting cast hold their own but never have much screen time enough to really show much worth mentioning, although Staunton does share some rather touching scenes with Meaney that really brings out the best of her abilities, along with Meaney's softer side.In the end I found 'Three and Out' to be a highly moving, compelling and original piece of comedic drama.
With terrific performances, down to earth characterisation that constantly feels familiar, and an entertaining, refreshingly dark plot, the film is certainly not without its highlights.
Regardless, 'Three and Out' is well worth your attention if you like your comedy black and your drama relevant; a solid piece of British film-making..
Everything about the film was pretty great parts of it were hilarious, the acting was good and at times brilliant, Colm Meaney in particular; even Kerry Katona who had a small cameo role in it didn't come across too badly!
It dealt with the sensitive issues central to the film very well, Im not sure why the train drivers made such a fuss about it; it really doesn't dwell on any of the issues complained about at all.
Didn't expect to love this film but the mix of comedy and drama made it a really enjoyable hour and a half - definitely would suggest that you go and see it..
It is a drama about the right to aid suicide and there are some really touching moments in this film, especially just before the ending.
I wouldn't say the acting was wonderful but despite it's cloudy script the actors give a solid performance and despite being a bit of a dick, i really did feel for Colm Meaneys character.
Maybe it really was a marketing muck-up to put this film forward as a wacky comedy, but having expected that I was actually happier with the moving, provocative and poetic story I got instead.
Colm Meaney and Imelda Staunton, just by looking at each other, convey more about the pains and regrets that life generates than many a more 'serious' or arty film manages despite loftier, often more pretentious ambitions.
I know that some expect too much from genre movies like this however considering the petite area its based in and does pay attention to main outputs of scenes.
- going to purchase myself the soundtrack Cd this week-end.Great Brit Film!
never have i seen such a mix of comedy/ drama/ romance that goes together so fantastically.the cast are excellent with Colm Meaney giving an award winning performance , newcomer Gemma Arterton is fresh & very capable.
the audience is able to feel Paul's anxiety and his need for pastures new.it is extremely difficult to think of a film that has ever done such a good job at tackling what is a controversial subject.
it's main plus is that the train driving is only ever a small part of the film and the majority of the running time is showing the journey Paul & Tommy go on and in the process we learn why Tommy is who he has become..
Way back even before this film even premiered at the cinema, the main London Underground tube drivers Union ASLEF were up in arms about this film being insensitive and that people falling under trains and suicide is not something to be laughed about.
I don't know what they thought this film was about, or whether they had seen a completely different film to me, but I would struggle to class this as a comedy at all.
It's a serious look at Colm Meaney's character Tommy, his relationship with his wife and daughter and how it came to be that he is willing to throw himself in front of Mackenzie Crooks train.
There is actually very little of the movie set underground at all - it soon takes on a road movie type trip through Liverpool (with a (thankfully brief) cameo by Atomic Kitten's Kerry Katona) and then onto Cumbria and the Lake District, no doubt to try and encourage movie-goers to holiday in the area.Colm Meaney is better than he ever was in Star Trek, Imelda Staunton is there because after all this is a Brit flick and it says in her contract somewhere that she must star in every new British film going, while relative newcomer Gemma Arterton (last seen in St Trinians)puts on a Scouse accent for this role and does her rising career no harm at all - the new 007 film is up next, and the girl has a promising future in front of her.
I was never a fan of "The Office" in the first place, but he seems to do well enough here - he and Meaney make a good team, it's just a shame that nearly all the original publicity back in April 2008 was negative, focusing mainly on the objections of the ASLEF union to a film that they had obviously not seen.
Agreed, deaths under the wheels of trains aren't funny - I've researched my family tree and one distant relative did die this way and the inquest report makes for grim reading - I've no doubt that this is a very traumatic experience for any driver unlucky enough to hit and kill someone and no laughing matter - but then this film is no laughing matter either.
The performances were excellent, especially Colm Meaney as Tommy and Mackenzie Crook as Paul, but Imelda Staunton was wonderful as always.
What a great British movie, I'm so surprised and disappointed that 2 people's low score have given this an average of a poultry 5.3!!
The film is enjoyable, insightful, full off feeling and comedy and would be enjoyed by anyone from the UK.
After watching it half way i thought they could have done better but at the end of the movie everything made sense.
It shows the depths to which studios have plumbed that they actually thought this movie was a marketable commodity.Mackenize Crook sleepwalks his way through a banal and frankly insulting script, as Paul Callow.
A Dostoyevsky reading tube train driver, with aspirations to be a writer, who has killed 2 passengers in a matter of weeks and needs just one more to receive a pay off and early retirement.
Any director that imagines giving the awful fat gob on legs, Kerry Katona, a cameo in his film is going to lend some kind of populist gloss to his trite ideas really should throw himself under the next train to oblivion.
Weak script, weak acting, appalling direction and worst of all an incredibly patronising attempt to tack a pointless feel good moment of self discovery onto the loathsome main character at the end.
The most poignant moment of the whole film is when Mackenzie Crook looks out of the window of his flat, and on the sill is a copy of Joseph Heller's novel Catch 22.
It wasn't a comedy of the sort like "American pie", "School of Rock" or "The Simpsons film" (just to name some really famous ones) in which you get regular jokes, set characters to make you laugh e.g. homer or jack black in that case, where you expect to say or do stupid/funny things, it was more of a literal 'film', perhaps like "Bridget Jone's diary", only whereas the same comedy style mentioned above, featuring some elements of comedy and its few moments, but not an actual pure comedy like the 3 examples I gave earlier.I would actually call it more one of those films like "there will be blood" or "thirteen" that really just make you think or reflect, films that would be good to watch if you are interested in sociology.
The ending left me feeling very upset, as were literally almost the rest of the audience as they walked out the screen, you grow an attachment to the characters.I was sceptical about seeing the film at first as the issue of the proposed comedy was suicide, but I think the directors didn't handle it controversially or distastefully overall.
It fell to Colm Meaney & Imelda Staunton to provide the only characters worthy of my time, but they too, surely, must've been putting faith into the guys at the cutting room to turn their clichéd lines into something worth seeing.
Same with the main character of this film, perhaps not fully forgiven but remembered, for all these years of being an egoist and a scumbag, his daughter still loves him, for all these promises, that remained unfulfilled, she missed him all these years.
Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) is a London subway train driver.
With the limited time, he decides to visit his estranged wife Rosemary (Imelda Staunton) and daughter Frances (Gemma Arterton) with Paul in tow.The general concept is problematic.
It tries to be a black comedy while keeping Paul a good guy.
With Paul as a good guy, I don't like the way this ends but the movie's problem is well entrenched by then.
Like those films it is a pitch-black comedy, but with a surprisingly soft heart at its center.The story is about a London tube driver (MacKenzie Crook)who has accidentally run over two people in a month and will receive a retirement pension if he hits a third.
Very funny performances from main characters Mackenzie Crook and Gemma Arterton, along with the rest of the supporting cast.The film is controversial as the plot focuses on a serious issue, but the well written script means that 'Three and Out' is more of a lighthearted comedy.The soundtrack - with its mix of Irish and Rock music is also well suited to the film, fitting with the lighthearted mood.The quality of camera work and photography is good, shot in Cumbria and Liverpool there is lots of superb scenery.Overall, this is a very funny movie well worth going to see!.
What a great film, characters you care about, excellent performances, unique story line and lots of subtle laughs..
Two strange things about this film that might be connected: first, it was marketed as a comedy but is really a drama with a few mildly funny moments, and second it has a surprisingly low rating on this site (especially considering the generally high rating given by those who have chosen to support their rating with a comment).
Perhaps the low rating is a result of the mis-marketing by the film's publicity department and, considering low-budget efforts like this often live or die on the word-of-mouth generated by those prompted to watch the film by its adverts, they might do well to remember this fact in future.The story concerns the efforts of Paul (Mackenzie Crook), a tube driver who, having accidentally run over two people in a short space of time, attempts to entice a third person, would-be suicide Tommy Cassidy (Colm Meaney), into jumping under his train so that he can take advantage of the 'retirement' package of 10 years pay offered by his employers.
The film does initially start off as if it is going to be one of those stultifying black comedies that believe the shock-value of its storyline precludes it from having to supply any comedy element but, once Paul has explained his plan to Tommy, it takes a different course, turning more into a sort of road movie and, although Crook enjoys more screen time, expending more effort into getting under the skin of Tommy's character.Meaney is terrific as Tommy.
Crook, maybe, isn't so great, meaning that the chemistry between their characters doesn't quite develop as well as it might otherwise have done.
Crook's a little too strange looking to play an everyman type, and there is no way that a girl like Frankie (Tommy's daughter, played by future Bond girl Gemma Arterton) would jump into the sack with a geeky looking guy like Paul after a couple of beers.The film doesn't really offer anything new, but it does offer a gently observant treatise about not losing sight of what are the important things in life..
Paul Callow (Mackenzie Crook) has a bad couple of weeks as a London Underground Tube Driver  (Spoiler  but not really giving anything away here)  Paul hits and kills two Passengers while driving his Underground Train.
Paul then hears from his matey colleagues that there is a Three and Out Rule in place  if he kills three people with his train within a month he will be retired and paid 10 years salary  so judging by what the average tube driver earns this probably equates to over £500,000+ ($1m+).
Now I always like to give British Films a chance and on first impressions this one isn't too bad for a light comedy  however everything about it strikes you while you watch it as "Average".
However the biggest gripe comes half way into the movie when the Director thinks it would be a good idea to experiment with Angles.
Now camera angles rarely bother me  but in this film while Mackenzie and Colm are shouting near a bunch of cows the director really should have re shot  shaky almost out of focus and badly directed  however thankfully the rest of the movie isn't shot in this way.
The acting is brilliant and the story (while a little far fetched) does follow nicely and makes the film easy to watch.
Don't believe the controversy surrounding this film until you've seen it, it's worth a look..
Haven't we all watched films that portray dark things for the sake of comedy?
But that's wherein the base of the films lies: morality and human emotion.I, like some other reviewers and commentators was surprised by this as it would seem from the posters that it's about chasing the cash, so it was a nice surprise that this as not the case.Mackenzie Crook delivers a good performance, and Gemma Arterton is adequately (and often nakedly) there for the guys, but Colm Meaney and Imelda Staunton really provide the heart-warming depth to the whole film.
The interaction and emotional heartstrings that are pulled, using the lead as a vehicle for the film, really works well I feel, and gives the film some good depth, whilst the pace is kept up by the 'comedy capers' of awkward yet sweet Crook.I really do think that those who are offended by the premise should have a peek because it's really quite a sweet film with some real laugh-out-loud gags in there.
One of which is Kerry Katona attempting to act, though not sure if that's intentional.I'm giving it an 8 because it makes for a good 'date' movie, and is deffo one for the girlies to enjoy....
The performances were great especially from the lead actors: Mackenzie Crook, Imelda Staunton and Colm Meaney.
If anything, this movie left me wondering how much difference the actors selected make to a film's success.
If they did, they missed out because, dare I say it, this film is way more believable than I suspect an American version would have beenSome reviewers have questioned the categorising of "A Deal Is A Deal" as a comedy and I wonder whether their sense of humour is limited to in- your-face slapstick-type stuff because there are some beautifully subtle (and typically British) comedic bits that I fear have gone right over their heads.Gemma Arterton has, of course, gone on to become a much more major star than she was when this movie was made but her stint in this clearly shows the future that she has since attained (a Bond girl, no less!).My only reservation about the story is that Paul would have had an awful lot of answering to do for running Tommy down because the computerised track records would clearly show that he stopped just a few yards short of the fatal accident site and then restarted his train.
How would Paul explain all that without incriminating himself?By the way, is it just me, but if ever a movie gets made about the Beatles, wouldn't Mackenzie Crook make a great Ringo (if he can do the Scouse accent)?