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''Big Nothing'' is a 2006
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Jean-Baptiste Andrea Jean-Baptiste Andrea is a French novelist, film director and screenwriter. He grew up in Cannes, where he started making short films. He later moved to Paris and graduated in political science and economics. In Paris, he met Fabrice Canepa, and t ...
, starring
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
,
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
and
Alice Eve Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
. It had its world premiere at the Cardiff Film Festival on 18 November 2006, and was released in the United Kingdom on 1 December 2006. ''Big Nothing'' was filmed on the
Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...
and in Wales at
Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 19 ...
in the
Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol C ...
and at
Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important settle ...
and other areas of
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
. Other scenes were at
Squamish, British Columbia Squamish (; Squamish language, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim: Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, ; 2016 census population 19,512) is a community and a district municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, located at th ...
, Canada.


Plot

In a small
Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
town, a brutal
serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
nicknamed the "Oregon undertaker" has been murdering and mutilating young women. Charlie (
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
) is an ex-teacher who is fired on his first day as a
call center A call centre ( Commonwealth spelling) or call center (American spelling; see spelling differences) is a managed capability that can be centralised or remote that is used for receiving or transmitting a large volume of enquiries by telephone. ...
employee. His colleague Gus (
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
) invites him to join a plot to blackmail a reverend, about whose visits to porn websites he has obtained evidence. Teenage pageant queen Josie McBroom (
Alice Eve Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
) overhears them planning the scam, and insists on joining the scheme. The trio call the reverend to demand a blackmail payment. Gus goes to the reverend's house, while Charlie goes to a bar where he plans to set up an alibi for Gus. On telling people at the bar that Gus went to a gas station, he finds that the gas station attendant is in the bar, ruining the alibi. He leaves and hurries to the reverend's house. Finding the body of the reverend there, and no sign of Gus, he disposes of the body in a
septic tank A septic tank is an underground chamber made of concrete, fiberglass, or plastic through which domestic wastewater (sewage) flows for basic sewage treatment. Settling and anaerobic digestion processes reduce solids and organics, but the treatme ...
. It transpires that the reverend shot Gus in the leg, and Gus knocked him out with a vase, meaning that he was still alive when Charlie put him into the septic tank. The two discover videos of the reverend torturing and killing a young woman. A deputy policeman then calls at the house in search of the reverend, who he says has been found dead with three gunshot wounds. As the deputy leaves, he discovers drag marks leading to the septic tank. Gus knocks him out with a vase. The reverend's wife arrives, and threatens Gus, Charlie and the deputy with a gun. Josie arrives and attacks her with an axe. The deputy attempts to escape, but while trying to climb through a window, falls and hits his head, killing himself. Charlie, Gus, and Josie flee the scene. After nearly having a car accident with a fat man, they continue to their disposal point, only to find that one of the bodies is missing. They drive back and hit the Reverend's wife, who had jumped out of the car and was trying to get help. As they look over the body, two police officers arrive, one of them being Charlie's wife, and quickly see the body. Charlie's wife tries to call her deputy, but it goes to voicemail. Josie hurriedly makes up a story, but the three are taken to the station where a special agent is waiting. Agent Hymes (
Jon Polito Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fi ...
), the fat man the three almost got into an accident with, examines the body with Gus and Josie. In the waiting room, Charlie finds his sleeping daughter, who could not be left alone at the house and was brought by his wife, and gives her his coat. Charlie, Gus and Josie drive to a
tar pit Tar pits, sometimes referred to as asphalt pits, are large asphalt deposits. They form in the presence of oil, which is created when decayed organic matter is subjected to pressure underground. If this crude oil seeps upward via fractures, condu ...
, where they plan to dispose of the bodies, but they find that the special agent has been following them. The agent then reveals that Josie is the Wyoming Widow; a murderer who befriended men and killed them with whiskey laced with highly concentrated
thallium Thallium is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a gray post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Chemists W ...
. She is found to be carrying a flask of whiskey; she drinks some to prove that it is not poisoned, but the agent escapes during the distraction. While the others search for him, Gus tries to flee with the money, but is caught by the agent, who complains of his lack of payment for what he does. He shoots and kills Gus, and takes the money. In the meantime, Charlie's wife finds the badge of her deputy in her husband's coat, but drives to a bridge and throws it off. The agent runs to his car, but is surprised by Josie and Charlie. They make him eat a large sugary
lollipop A lollipop is a type of sugar candy usually consisting of hard candy mounted on a stick and intended for sucking or licking. Different informal terms are used in different places, including lolly, sucker, sticky-pop, etc. Lollipops are availa ...
, putting him into a diabetic coma. Josie pulls a gun on Charlie and explains that she really is the Wyoming Widow. She gives him the choice of the bullet or the poisoned whiskey (from her second flask). Charlie tells her not to spend all the money in one place, and drinks the whiskey. Josie discover that the bag is filled with nothing but his daughter's stuffed animals as Charlie collapses and dies. At home, Charlie's daughter is seen drawing with marker on some of the hundred dollar bills next to several large stacks of money. Josie tries to hitch a ride away from Oregon, and finally gets one from an old man. The old man goes to the back to "double-check on something", while Josie takes out the poisoned whiskey. The old man covers a bloody leg with a tarpaulin, and goes back into the truck to drive away with Josie. The last scene reveals a car plate from Oregon at the rear of the truck.


Cast

*
Simon Pegg Simon John Pegg (né Beckingham; born 14 February 1970) is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He came to prominence in the UK as the co-creator of the Channel 4 sitcom ''Spaced'' (1999–2001), directed by Edgar Wright. H ...
as Gus *
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Prime ...
as Charlie *
Alice Eve Alice Sophia Eve (born ) is a British actress. Her movie career includes roles in ''She's Out of My League'', ''Men in Black 3'', ''Star Trek Into Darkness'', and '' Before We Go''. She has had recurring roles on the TV series ''Entourage'' and ...
as Josie *
Natascha McElhone Natascha McElhone (; born Natascha Abigail Taylor, 14 December 1971) is a British actress. She is a graduate of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. In film, she is best known for her roles in '' Ronin'' (1998), ''The Truman Show'' (19 ...
as Penelope *
Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are ''Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the grea ...
as Mrs. Smalls *
Jon Polito Jon Raymond Polito (December 29, 1950 – September 1, 2016) was an American character actor. In a film and television career spanning 35 years, he amassed over 220 credits. Notable television roles included Detective Steve Crosetti in the fi ...
as Agent Hymes *
Sarah Edmondson Sarah Edmondson (born June 22, 1977) is a Canadian actress and podcaster. She is known for supporting roles on Hallmark, and as voice actress in Geronimo Stilton and as “Lina” in the Bratz movies. Edmondson is a former member of NXIVM, a no ...
as Isabella *
Julian Glover Julian Wyatt Glover (born 27 March 1935) is an English classical actor with many stage, television, and film roles since commencing his career in the 1950s. He is a recipient of the Laurence Olivier Award and has performed many times for th ...
as 80-year-old Man *
Amber Sealey Amber Sealey is a British-American actress, film producer, screenwriter, and film director. Early life Sealey was born in Brighton, England and raised in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She attended the University of California, Santa Cruz and studied Thea ...
as Call center supervisor * Shauna Shim as Melanie #1 * Laurence Bouvard as Melanie #2 *
Colin Stinton Colin Stinton (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian actor. Early life Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1947, Stinton moved to the United States as a child in 1952. He lived in a trailer with his family—traveling throughout the U.S. and finall ...
as Max * Mitchell Mullen as Reverend Smalls * Clair Elsmore as Snuff Movie Victim * Kenneth Jay as Barman * William Rosenfeld as Deputy Garman


Production and release

''Big Nothing'' was filmed over thirty-two days in January 2006, and had its world premiere at the Cardiff Film Festival on 18 November 2006. Released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 1 December 2006, the film had its European market release on 15 March 2007, but was never released in cinemas in America. It was released on DVD on 12 June 2007.


Reception


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
the film has an approval rating of based on reviews from critics. ''
Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' gave the film three out of five stars, commenting that "the tone shift is a little too extreme for mainstream success, but Schwimmer and Pegg provide a solid, blackly comic centre to an original crime caper." The
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
also gave the film three out of five stars, praising Pegg and Schwimmer's performances, particularly noting that Pegg had "reinvented himself" with his role. Yahoo Movies praised the film, calling it "slick, sharp and smartly underplayed – ''Big Nothing'' amounts to quite a bit in the end."


Box office

''Big Nothing'' grossed £83,829 in its first weekend in the UK, after release in 101 cinemas.


Soundtrack

# ''
Bound for the Floor "Bound for the Floor" is a song by American alternative rock duo Local H, released as the first single from their 1996 album, '' As Good as Dead''. It was released to modern rock stations on July 15 and mainstream rock stations on July 22. It is ...
'' – Performed by
Local H Local H is an American rock band originally formed by guitarist and vocalist Scott Lucas, bassist Matt Garcia, drummer Joe Daniels, and lead guitarist John Sparkman in Zion, Illinois in 1990. The members all met in high school in 1987 and founde ...
(Written by Scott Lucas) # '' Hands on the Bible'' – Performed by Local H (Written by Scott Lucas) # '' Engel'' – Written and performed by
Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
# '' Blinking Lights (For You)'' – Performed by
Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...
(Written by
Mark Oliver Everett Mark Oliver Everett (born April 10, 1963) is the American lead singer, songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist and sometimes drummer of the rock band Eels. Also known as E, he is known for writing songs tackling subjects such as death, loneliness, d ...
) # ''But I Did Not'' – Written and performed by
Howe Gelb Howe Gelb (born October 22, 1956, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer based in Tucson, Arizona. Projects Gelb's approach to music is collaborative and he has recorded with a number of s ...
# ''Fin De Siècle'' – Performed by
Noir Désir Noir Désir (, "Black Desire") was a French rock band from Bordeaux. They were active during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, and have had two albums certified double platinum in France and three certified gold. They have been an influence on nu ...
, remixed by Andrej (Written by Bertrand Cantat and Noir Désir) # ''Money (That's What I Want)'' – Performed by Barrett Strong (Written by Janie Bradford and Berry Gordy) # '' Love of the Loveless'' – Performed by Eels (Written by Mark Oliver Everett)) # '' Stabat Mater'' – Composed by
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi Giovanni Battista Draghi (; 4 January 1710 – 16 or 17 March 1736), often referred to as Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (), was an Italian Baroque composer, violinist, and organist. His best-known works include his Stabat Mater and the opera ''L ...
# '' Sacred Darling'' – Performed by
Gogol Bordello Gogol Bordello is an American punk rock band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 by musicians from all over the world and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring. Much of the band's sound is inspired by Ro ...
(Written by
Eugene Hütz Eugene Hütz (; uk, Євген Гудзь, Yevhen Hudz, ; born Yevgen Oleksandrovych Nikolayev-Symonov, ua, Євген Олександрович Ніколаєв-Симонов, on 6 September 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer, composer, disc ...
) # ''The Soldier'' – Written and performed by
Martin Craft Martin Craft is an Australian songwriter, producer, and composer. Usually recording under the name M.Craft, he has released several albums on various labels, most recently signing with London's Heavenly Recordings. He is also known as a songwrit ...
# ''Sister Sister'' – Written and performed by
Baxter Dury Baxter Dury (born 18 December 1971) is an English indie musician, originally signed to Rough Trade Records. Early life Baxter Dury is the son of Ian Dury and his wife Elizabeth "Betty" Rathmell. As a young boy he appeared on the front cover ...


See also

*
List of films featuring diabetes There is a body of films that include a character with diabetes as part of the plot. In the late twentieth century, most films' references to diabetes were minor. Characters with diabetes were developed in plots in which the disease "played a more ...


References


External links

* * {{AllMovie title, 360917 2006 films 2006 black comedy films 2000s crime comedy films British black comedy films British crime comedy films Canadian black comedy films Canadian crime comedy films American buddy films English-language Canadian films Films set in Oregon Films shot in the Isle of Man Films shot in Vancouver Films shot in Wales Pathé films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films 2000s Canadian films 2000s British films