Martin (deceased) is stuck in a dead-end job, welcoming the newly departed into the afterlife. All he dreams of is going 'Up There'. But his plans are thrown into disarray when he has to team up with the relentlessly chirpy Rash and together they lose a new arrival.
The film is hobbled by a script that’s not quite funny or surprising enough, and a performance of insufferable garrulity by Aymen Hamdouchi as a pest who battens on to the long-suffering Martin.
What follows is an offbeat road movie that puts an entertainingly morbid spin on the value of learning to appreciate one’s situation – however miserable it might at first seem.
Salim's film is good-looking and proficient; but there is not quite enough here to sustain interest.
Great writing and direction from Zam Salim, and a charismatic lead turn from Burn Gorman. A fine debut.
Quirky and original, Up There feels more like an East German comedy from the Sixties than anything typically British but that is a big part of its charm.
Ultimately, though, there is not quite enough here in the way of ideas to hold the interest to the end.
It runs out of steam very early on but should be compulsory viewing for would-be suicide bombers who think they're going to be living in a paradise populated by beautiful virgins.
It is no surprise to learn that this is an expanded version of a short film, as it ultimately feels like a simple, solid idea that’s been stretched thin.
A matter of life after death
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