Film Review - Fisherman's Friends (12A)

Retro's back, again.

The opening moments of Fisherman's Friends tell all you need to know about the experience ahead. A soaring shot of the Cornwall coastline to the a cappella strains of Cornish folk song 'Dan Kanaka' - you know this is going to be a change of pace, a warm and comforting ride. If you're in the mood for something gentle and charming and soothing to your troubled soul, so that moment promises, then this is your film. And to be totally fair, it's a promise well-kept.

Formed in the mid-90s and going on to achieve notable music-industry success, the Fisherman's Friends from Port Isaac, Cornwall provide the real-life core of this film. Around their evolution into recording artists is spun a fictional romantic comedy as cosy as their knitted sweaters. Danny (the ever-magnificent Daniel Mays) is a talent scout and all-round London player on a Cornish stag weekend with some of his music-business mates. On hearing the Friends belt out a sea shanty, he's cajoled into pitching them a record deal. It's all a joke on the part of his boss (Noel Clarke as a mocking industry a-hole), and in truth Danny is more interested in single mum and Fisherman's Daughter Alwyn (a positively glowing Tuppence Middleton) than the singers themselves. But their earthy camaraderie stirs something within his jaded soul and despite resistance from both Alwyn and her father (James Purefoy as the group's unofficial leader), he sticks around to try and persuade the boys regarding potential stardom.

Scripted by the co-writers of later-life rejuvenation tale Finding Your Feet, this is another does-what-it-says-on-the-tin piece of storytelling. You know full well that the salty fishermen (who also do a line in local sea-rescue) will have much to teach the shallow big-city lad. You never doubt that however dubious his motivations, he'll start to fall in love - with the girl, the people and the place. And you can bet that there'll be a few bumps along the road to success and mutual understanding. There's a bursting sackful of corn here, including predictable plot beats, hoary old jokes and sailors bursting into spontaneous song among the lobster pots. If you're a cynic with an antipathy to folk music and a sense that there's little wisdom to be gleaned from hardened Brexiteers (the Friends mistrust anyone north of the River Tamar, so I assume they have no time for the European Union), then this one might not be for you. Don't be too quick to judge though...

With this type of well-worn tale - material guy connects with what really matters - it's all in the execution, and here the execution is strong. The direction and cinematography bring out the best in the Cornish landscape, while Meg Leonard and Nick Moorcroft's script has considerable pith and wit. However it's the depth of performance that bring this story home, not least Mays' fish-out-of-water (land-mammal-at-sea?) music executive. The Brit star of Line of Duty and Swimming With Men brings much-needed likability to the laddish Danny and utter authenticity to his change of heart. It's a kind of moral turnaround that's dramatically hard to sell, but Mays achieves it with ease. Middleton radiates warmth in response as Alwyn, once she's lowered her prickly defences that is. Loyal to her Cornish roots, she's more culturally attuned than the older generations, and the couple's chemistry is sweetly believable. So is that between Danny and Alwyn's daughter Tamsin, due to an endearing performance from young Meadow Nobrega.

For many, though, it'll be the fishermen themselves who steal it through rich harmonies and banter. Sheer conviction saves them from being a bunch of crusty caricatures, that and the fact they gel so convincingly both on mike and off. Purefoy suggests a profound soul beneath a taciturn exterior, while I, Daniel Blake's Dave Johns and veteran character player David Hayman contribute lovely comic turns. (The latter forms a touching double-act with Maggie Steed, who plays his beloved missus.) And fans of droll Britcom Mum will enjoy Sam Swainsbury as the youngster in the musical pack - a more sensitive, less dim-witted version of his TV role.

The sneering part of me might once have dismissed this as 'perfect for Odeon silver cinema' - truly a slap-worthy comment. For one thing there's nothing wrong with a gentle-natured film accompanied by tea and biscuits on a wet Tuesday morning. (I know, because I slipped in once to catch up on a movie I'd missed). And for another, spirit-massaging feel-good has its place, especially when it's done as attractively as this. The story may be as old as the guys' sea-drenched shanties, but it's delivered with equivalent assurance. As friends go, you could do worse than hang out with this lot for a night. They know how to deliver a good time.

Gut Reaction: A few good laughs, several heartstring tugs and (for personal reasons) one full-on sob.

Memorable Moment: How to rout a posh wedding.

Ed's Verdict: 7/10. Fisherman's Friends does nothing you can't predict, but it does the predictable well with snuggly results. Go on, suck it and see.