What We Did on Our Holiday (2014)

From the great cast and idea, as well as the trailer being as entertaining as it was, What We Did On Our Holiday did look really promising. And it didn't disappoint, one or two tonal shifts jar just a tad and the material for David Tennant and Rosamund Pike wasn't quite as strong as that for the children and Billy Connolly(though it wasn't at all bad either) but it's a lovely film overall that entertains and touches. What We Did On Our Holiday is well-shot, never doing too much or too little, complementing the gorgeous scenery adeptly, while the soundtrack is appropriately understated and the film's sympathetically directed, allowing the story to resonate, the script to sparkle, accommodating the actors and using the idea to its full potential. There is a perfect balance of humour and pathos in the script, the humour especially with the children is often laugh-out-loud funny and the dramatic pathos parts are genuinely poignant. The story always engages and apart from at the end slightly it never feels too predictable, there are a number of surprises and What We Did On Our Holiday has a lot to say about family life and deals with it sympathetically and warmly in a way that allows us to completely identify with the situation and the characters, who all have a great amount of likability. The performances are excellent with the interplay between the actors even stronger, the chemistry between Connolly and the children is just adorable. David Tennant and Rosamund Pike are fine though Connolly and the children make much more of an impact, mainly due to better material. Connolly is very funny and also very moving, not just the character's situation which is enough to break anybody's heart but also it felt like a personal performance with Connolly being as gifted at comedy as he is and his ailing health. The children steal the show, Harriet Turnball is just hilarious and Emilia Jones also plays her role with a lot of charm. All in all, a lovely film that promised a good deal and delivers even more. 8/10 Bethany Cox