Very Annie Mary
Very Annie Mary is a 2001 musical-comedy film, written and directed by Sara Sugarman and starring Rachel Griffiths and Jonathan Pryce. It is a coming-of-age tale, set in south Wales, about a woman in her 30s who lives with her verbally abusive father. It was filmed on location in Bridgend and at Workingman's Institute and Memorial Hall, Newbridge, Wales. Premise. After her father suffers a stroke, a woman is forced to take care of him but uses the circumstances to emancipate herself and find the courage to sing once again. Cast. Minor roles  in the film are played by Ray Gravell, Mary Hopkin and Ruth Jones, among others. Music. The film features the following songs: Production. The film was shot in the middle of 1999, with filming taking place in the Garw Valley in Bridgend, Wales, posing as the fictional village of "Ogw" (a play on the name of the Ogmore Valley's Welsh name of Ogwr). It was scheduled to be presented at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival and the Dinard Festival of British Cinema but failed to show at either event. Reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating  of , based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads "An exercise in strained whimsy and saccharine sentiment." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 33 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". "Variety" called it a "half-klutzy, half-engaging eccentric comedy...bolstered by good turns from leads Rachel Griffiths and Jonathan Pryce" but "falling prey to a general disorganization in tone and structure." "The Guardian" called it "a broad comedy with a very derivative Monty-ish plot, but likeable and good-natured." "The New York Times  called the film alternately mushy and farcical" with an "undertone of satire" that keeps the film from "choking on its own cuteness"; it "churns up a few genuinely funny bits" including a climax "that is almost worth waiting for."