104 Films main content:
Reviews of Special People
“Few films successfully negotiate the tricky expansion from short to feature but Special People is a happy exception. Justin Edgar's adaptation of his 12 minute 2005 short builds on the original material without diluting any of its sharp humour and also provides a deeper sense of the characters and their lives. The story of a film-maker working with a group of disabled teenager is used to create a well-observed tale with a big heart. The result is very likeable. This is a very disciplined piece of work with the kind of trim running time that leaves audiences wanting more”
Screen International.
“The beartraps of 'typical' modern British cinema are avoided. There is no easy resolution in the face of corporate adversity, an absence of cutesy children, an avoidance of one-liners in favour of much more powerful situational humour and, best of all, no schmaltz. In short this film is, as the title suggests, a little bit special”
Eye for Film.
“Writer-director Justin Edgar has a good ear for dialogue and a good sense of comic timing, but he also has a generous approach to his characters, offering up Jasper as a figure of mockery, but giving him plenty of quiet moments to redeem himself” The Scotsman
Reviews Links
Edinburgh Film Festival
Eye For Film
The Scotsman
Screen International
BBC Short Film Network
Reviews of Round
"An exploration of the existential loneliness of a Birmingham security guard, Justin Edgar's Round is well worth seeking out" Wendy Ide, The Times
"A whimsical, visually inventive short about a security guard who falls in love with the new cleaning lady" Geoff Andrew, Time Out
“A one-off showing at the Midland arts centre tonight provides the Birmingham premiere for a short that has already earned praise on the festival circuit. Following up his full length debut Large (itself having grown out of an award-winning short), Justin Edgar maintains a shapely titular theme with Round, a three handed romantic comedy set in the Rotunda with Dominic Coleman as a security guard into expanding his vocabulary, Simon Lowe as his less cultured colleague and Jo Enright as the cleaning lady who ignites love at first sight but doesn't share his anoraky passion for flying kites. Droll and deadpan as opposed to the rather more cartoonish humour of Large, it also marks a distinct progression for Edgar's directing style, often, as in the closing image of two red balloons, demonstrating a touching poetic lyricism" Mike Davies, Whats On
Reviews of Large
“Marrying the punky raw energy of ‘Human Traffic’ with the rudeness of ‘There’s Something About Mary’, ‘Large’ is hysterical” Variety
“From its brashly garish colours to cartoon character acting, it doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is. Which fortunately happens to be a largin' it dose of fun with a Brummie accent and a loada laughs” Whats On
“Large’s impressive comic energy extracts big belly laughs from it’s target audience” Sight and Sound