Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

A Cock and Bull Story
2005
Scion Films Ltd.
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Length: 94 min.
Country: UK
Format: 35mm
Date Viewed: 27 February

A sort of fraternal twin to Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People, Tristram Shandy is a self-referential look behind the scenes of a major entertainment industry. Whereas the former was about Factory Records and the Manchester New Wave scene of the '70s, '80s and early '90s, the latter takes aim at the film industry, poking fun at weak directors, overbearing producers and ego-mad actors trying to make an adaptation of the unfilmable titular book (that actually exists, and is supposedly rather good).

The film is consistently hilarious and the performances great across the board, but is also incredibly and quite unnecessarily complex. It's rather difficult to figure out the film's rhythm and its many, many layers of reality, and as a result, it's easy to get lost for the entirety of the first act (if not longer). It's refreshing that Winterbottom trusts our intelligence, but the film ends up being one for active movie-watchers only. I can't imagine any passive movie-goer enjoying this film in the slightest, regardless of how extremely funny it is. It's definitely worth seeing, but don't expect an easy ride.