Dangerous Parking (2007)

Wonderful character development!

Such a frustrating disappointment

Memorable, crazy movie

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I think that the reviews so far are rather over-the-top in their praise. Yes, this is a good film, it's amusing in places and it's a pretty good film about dying.It has some distinct longueurs, though. The whole alcoholics anonymous thing goes on too long, really, as does the rehabilitation stuff. As you'd expect, the AA doesn't really do anything for him, and it's rather sad that he can't enjoy a jar or two once he knows he's going to be dead shortly - something rather nasty about that. True enough, to life, in a way, it is all pretty tedious, but, when watching a film, you don't really need so much of the tedium to get the point.The doctors, like the girlfriends, were all cut-out characters, making it, as the man says, a very self-indulgent film. I enjoyed it, though, on the whole.

The opening five minutes or so of this film sit so uneasily with the rest of it that I'm inclined to wonder if they were a veiled satire of the state of most modern British cinema with it's desperate eagerness to please and self conscious coolness. Lets just say these initial scenes almost made me switch off. I'm glad I didn't.What follows is a glorious mess of a film. A tumble of ideas and emotion mixed up and thrown at the screen. 'Dangerous Parking' is worthy to be included with Nic Roeg's most frustrating, delirious and brilliant output. It's rare to see a film that doesn't compromise or treat it's audience like a tested demographic. This film deserves to be seen and felt by people who love cinema. Watching Peter Howitt's performance is like watching a drowning man. Uncomfortable but compelling.

What an unexpected Gem, British film making minus Danny Dyer minus Guy Ritchie minus Colin Firth = ' Excellent ' … Don't switch off after the first 5 minutes as this could be our typical British flop. Narration,, freeze frame ,, loser introspective rewind, loads of swearing, attitude, over use of flashback etc However the film draws you in . And succeeds through the bombastic central performance from its lead Peter Howit through the effective use of narration and non chronological story telling, all too often exploited in modern cinema On reflection this is a modern day shakespearean tragedy .. A triumph in modern cinema which succeeds in making you laugh whilst conveying a very sad and poignant message of one mans search for redemption With a raw honesty served on a plate of hilarious self destructive loathing the narrator introduces his world of drug fuelled decadence with at times hilarious results, before his admission to rehab in an effort to resurrect his life . The latter part of the film turns decidedly dark and is at times difficult viewing so be prepared for an emotional roller-coaster.. Try and imagine Ivan's XTC meets Trainspotting meets Witnail and I ? I !A MUST SEE

I must say that coming out of the screening for Dangerous Parking is one of the rare occasions where I have genuinely been 'moved' by a film, so I think that coming out saying "I really enjoyed it....It was a great movie....What a great performance etc etc" now seem like stock and clichéd responses to a film that deserves so much more.I find it hard for anybody who has lived, loved and lost, not to be profoundly moved and affected by Dangerous Parking. It is one of the most honest, real, raw and beautiful films that I have ever seen about the human condition, warts and all. Peter Howitt gave a performance that was, to most Oscar nominated male leads, what junior school nativities are to RSC performances. He gave a blistering, acerbic, and - in more ways than the literal - naked, performance. It demands to be noticed and acclaimed.