Sightseers

Alice Lowe and Steve Oram in Sightseers

Ben Wheatley's Sightseers, from 2012, tells of a murder spree perpetrated by a couple on a caravan holiday in rural England. Chris (Steve Oram) is the initial instigator of the violence, but is soon outstripped in cruelty and mendacity by his girlfriend, Tina (Alice Lowe). Oram and Lowe's script strikes a black comic tone. The film is funny in a peculiar way rather than a laugh out loud way, as Chris and Tina's itinerary includes quirky attractions like the National Pencil Museum. The editing is provocative and tight, giving shape to a film that often threatens to meander. I was never fully intrigued with the proceedings, but I was never bored. Recurrently, Wheatley seems intent on exploring the sociopathy lurking beneath the civilized veneer of English society.