Browse Movies : 2016 : Adaptation : B

The film centers on Barney Thomson (Carlyle), an awkward, shy Glasgow barber, living a life of desperate mediocrity. His mother (Thompson) offers little encouragement, as she is far too self-absorbed, chain smoking between absurd social outings in her animal print wardrobe. Little does Barney know how his stale and life is about to change when he accidentally enters the dark, grotesque and comically absurd life of a serial killer.

The film is told from the point of view of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn (newcomer Joe Alwyn) who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing Iraq battle and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour. Through flashbacks, culminating at the spectacular halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day football game, the film reveals what really happened to the squad – contrasting the realities of the war with America’s perceptions.