Undertaking Betty (aka Plots With A View) (2002)

Set in a small village in Wales, the local undertaker (Alfred Molina) and the wife (Brenda Blethyn) of a local politician (Robert Pugh) fall in love and plot to fake her death so they can run off together. Alas, their plan doesn't quite go according to plan and they have to improvise much of it. Directed by Nick Hurran, one can see what the film makers were trying for ... an outrageous black comedy with a touch of romance. But for it to succeed, something like this needs a movie madman like Mel Brooks at the helm. Instead, they play it safe so we end up with intended laughs falling flat. The actors try hard but to no avail and one can't help but wonder if they knew the ship was sinking. There is one genuine touching moment in the film however, when a small boy (Padrig Owen Jones) thanks the "dead" Blethyn for being kind to him when she was alive. One can't be too harsh to it though, its eagerness to please is almost endearing. With Naomi Watts, Christopher Walken and Lee Evans.