Seat 25 (2017) User Reviews

The inner life of a dissatisfied woman, no science, no fiction

[siderite · 6/10 · 25 November 2018]

Faye is a Londoner who feels ignored by husband, family and colleagues and dreams of more in her life. She doesn't do anything towards that goal and her story would have probably been boring and unchanging if not for her becoming the winner of "seat 25" on an interplanetary expedition to Mars. So now that this extraordinary event has put everything into perspective... nothing changes. It's an hour and a half of Faye still getting ignored and being unable to express any thought or emotion in a way that the others can understand. Even her getting closer to one of the loner colleagues at her work and talking to him is a sham, since he is saying something and she understands something else entirely.

It is a movie about alienation, about people living around other people, not with them, about not being able to communicate in any meaningful way. This, it presents well. I wish, though, that the film would not have used a trip to Mars as the emotional trigger and that it would have actually triggered something other than depression! As such, I feel suckered in to see something about Mars and getting a story about the inner life of a woman in London (plus narration). Had I known that, I would probably have not watched it.

No, it's not SF but a minimalistic, melodramatic portrait of Faye's life.

[peterp-450-298716 · 6/10 · 29 January 2019]

"You decide to go to Mars forever and you forget to tell your husband?"

I'm open to all kinds of films. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster with star actors. I love indies as well. And already several times I was lucky enough to see a gem of a movie. A film that's not well-known to the general public. But to be honest, "Seat 25" is a film that has tested the limits of my stamina. Coincidentally I saw "The Martian" a few days ago on some television channel. "Seat 25" is about a young woman named Faye Banks (Madeleine Cooke) who has won a golden ticket. Just like Charlie in a very different movie. Not to immerse herself in a stream of chocolate in the factory of Willy Wonka, but to become a member of a team that booked a one-way trip to Mars.

So, are you looking forward to an exciting SF with the red planet as the central theme, then you can skip this one. Apart from some red-tinted images of a sandy, rocky landscape, there's not much interplanetary to see. Sometimes it seems as if Faye is living on another planet. But don't expect similar action sequences like Matt Damon did in "The Martian". Or scenes with a large rocket. Or an overcrowded Control Center. The only thing that just kind of stuck with me is that it all seemed terribly boring and everything seemed so insignificant. Really everything radiates dullness. Faye is boring. Her family is boring. Her clothes look dull. Her work is boring. The colleagues are boring. Fay's life in itself is boring. Mr. Popescu (Adnan Rashad) was dead tired of all the dullness in his life. The conversations are boring. The interior is boring (Yeak, those symmetrically placed pillows). You'd fly to Mars for less. Only neighbor Peter (Stephen Lloyd) and his daughter Flossie breach this overall dullness.

It's not only the monotony of her life Faye wants to escape from. She also seems to have a degree in science. You can easily deduce this from the fact that her husband Jim (Nicholas Banks) persuades her to take a job at a certain moment, even though it has nothing to do with science ("I know it's not in science, but it's a job. We need the money "). That Jim-guy really is an intrusive and bossy fellow. And probably this trip to Mars is an unfulfilled wish of her. Seems quite obvious to me when you look at her box full of high-tech scientific material: a space helmet made of aluminum foil, a few pictures frames with space photographs and a pile of VHS tapes about planets from our galaxy. Probably these are remnants of demonstration material that she used for her thesis.

Maybe it all sounds a bit sarcastic and it might be better to simply skip this film. It's indeed all rather slow and boring. The whole story is infused with melancholy and sadness. So you won't feel happy or excited about this movie. And yet it did fascinate me in one way or another. Forget about the science part. About a Mars trip. And you'll discover an interesting story about how an individual is trapped in a daily routine. A life Faye isn't really satisfied with. And maybe she expected more of life. Hence her candidacy for seat number 25.

Madeleine Cooke isn't only a fun and attractive appearance. She plays the role of the timid and introverted Faye in a perfect way. Even though it sometimes seems as if Faye is feeble-minded and spends more time looking at the sky. Or reads the discharge procedure for the umpteenth time in an apathetic way. Or has lunch on that bench in the park in an upright sitting posture while staring into space. And the whole time I was asking myself two things. Will she make the decision and leave everything behind to go on an adventure? And when is she going to tell she's the chosen one?

No, "Seat 25" is not high-quality cinema. And no, it really isn't SF. It's rather melodramatic. Even though it sometimes comes across as humorous (but that has more to do with English correctness and stiffness). The film focuses more on the relations between everyday people. Faye has the choice between going to Mars on her own or staying in her current family situation. For her, the first option will be more satisfactory. Now she leads an ignored, misunderstood and numb life. With a man who has more eye for his own career and therefore is punctual and precise in terms of work. It's a man who decides on his own that it's time for them to have children. And Faye's sister lives in her own pretentious world. And finally, her parents treat her as a stranger. Not really a rosy life. There was only one thing I doubted at first. And that was whether the whole thing about flying to Mars wasn't something that only existed in Faye's imagination.

Hard to watch

[codexniagra · 5/10 · 8 November 2018]

This film wants to be Amelie SO BAD but it just isn't. It's a shame as it seems like it had so much potential if it had just done its own thing.

Could have been so much more

[hilary_mae-912-80561 · 2/10 · 12 November 2018]

I really wanted to like this film, but I was very disappointed. Apart from a couple of sidesteps and the last 20 seconds, it was like watching paint dry in a room full of really annoying people. It's no wonder she wanted to leave. No life to this film except the last few seconds. There was a lot of potential ready to burst forth in the character, but it never got there.

Deserves higher score than 5

[leavymusic-2 · 7/10 · 11 July 2019]

Perhaps the score will improve as of 2019 5 is pretty mean, I think many people we're expecting something different here, the film was enjoyable and interesting seeing how people's perceptions of life change when a huge life changing opportunity arises, not that this one comes around very often at all. Watch and don't expect Hollywood glamour and cgi but A nicely made British production that keeps you curious.

The film never took off

[Sasha_Lauren · 3/10 · 18 July 2019]

SEAT 25 (2017)

Seat 25 was recommended to me by someone whose artistic talent and sensibility I respect. I like when friends refer films to me because it gets me to look beyond the films I would choose for myself. Sometimes I love their movie referrals, and other times, as in the case of Seat 25, I don't.

I did enjoy the performance by the lead actress, Madeleine Cooke, who also is a co-writer and producer of the project. She played the main character Faye Banks with a clear presence that gave access to her feelings of alienation in ways I felt were easily accessible. And depressing. Faye is a woman in a beige, uninspiring marriage and a thankless job as a Employment Termination Assistant, an axeman who delivers the news to poor souls that they are fired. Her family is physically and emotionally unavailable; her sister is a negative sterotype of a proclaimed free spirit who is in actuality a freeloader. Faye's husband is portrayed as a one dimensional man going through his days on auto-pilot, escaping to console games, life cliques, ("we're going to try for a baby now, it's the next logical step"), and briefcase-in-hand, bland morning exits.

Faye feels like an alien on planet earth and has been captivated by Mars since she was a child, and so naturally when a lottery for a ticket on a shuttle to Mars comes up, Faye applies... and is chosen to go. I'm not a believer in the idea that life on Mars is realistic or desirable, so I was out of this narrative from it's inception. I settled in to watch the film as a metaphor, and managed to find a few interesting moments in her interactions with her neighbor Peter, a stay-at-home dad, and with Teodor, one of the employees she fired; I hoped these relationships would go somewhere substantial, but I ultimately felt they were pawns to manipulative the story in ways I found void of meaningful impact.

Artistically I appreciated the cinematography; Faye's colorful, quirky wardrobe; and the set designs, even in her very beige house.

For me, Seat 25 never took off.

Just what I needed

[Abritathome · 25 June 2019]

I had a free evening so wanted to watch something pleasant to relax. From the start I loved it, the dreamy filming, the narration, the encapsulation of the pointlessness of life. The lead was engaging to watch, the detail of the capture, the clothes, the expressions, really pulled you in to connect. It felt very lifelike and believable. The dignity and charm of the guy ( Theo) she let go, I knew where it was going and I expected it. I always love a British film, there is always a slight darkness and edge to them, though it could have been western European too.

Great little movie

[Mark-londoni-163-51986 · 7/10 · 22 July 2019]

If you come to this movie looking for a hard sci-fi flick, as I did, then you will be disappointe. Instead i found myself watching a little gem of a movie about the hardships of leaving everything behind and the pain of being stuck in a rut in life.

Excellent performance by the lead actress Madeleine Cook and enough memorable images and scenes to leave me quietly satisfied. I rate it a soft 7.

Award-wining? Seriously?

[stegasaurob · 1/10 · 4 October 2021]

Why oh why does Amazon Prime video think I like this kind of low-budget crap?

This seems like a bad student project, though if it was made by students they must have missed the lecture where they tell you to avoid starting your film with huge clunky chunks of exposition in voiceover. And the course where they teach you to write a half decent flipping screenplay. And the acting workshops.

I think they must have thought they were being quirky and clever and original, but they were actually being twee and bland and soulless.

The soundtrack is dreadfully cloying and repetitive and will make you want to smash your speakers.

I find it hard to imagine they made 24 other Seat films before this one. I certainly won't be watching any of them if I can help it.

Getting a seat

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 25 September 2022]

No pun intended - this is a drama more than a science fiction movie. I reckon the outline I read made me believe this was going to be way more out there - another pun to work with. But that aside, if you read that too, you understand what I mean. If not, than I reckon you will once you watch the movie. Decisions and announcements ... and how the public but also the people around you react to a major change in your life ... well it will dictate certain things.

So while there is a lot of Science Fiction that feed the story (the premise itself is based on that and not in reality at the moment at least), this is a human story. If you connect with that and the problems that arise and can empathize with the main character ... your journey with her will be delightful ... even without reaching the main goal (maybe ... and pun intended).

This won awards? Really?

[drweakheart-87200 · 2/10 · 29 July 2019]

I'll cut to the chase... Positives... The initial premise Some of the cinematography Elements of the production design The lead characters costume even with all its wanna be Amelie fixation. The pacing of the film, though a little too slow, in my opinion, falls just the right side of the line

Negatives Everything else. Every. Single. Thing. The direction, the stilted and clichéd script with a god awful voice over, stereotypes presented as characters, abysmal performances, the initial steadicam/ronin shots, framing issues...

I won't go on as I've devoted enough time to this film already but if you fancy being at least four steps ahead of the story at any given point, feel free, this is the one for you. A bit of advice.. Fast forward through the scene when the main protagonist goes to the home of a recently fired work colleague. Oh.. And the one after that. The dinner scene. Excruciating acting and exposition upon exposition through out. Oh. And the scene where 'Amelie' tells her husband she's leaving. And the one when an official comes round... And the one... Oh I give up... Some of the dialogue in this film is beyond bad. I know this was helmed by first time writer and director but they really required help. This script was just not ready to be shot, it seemed as though they missed a large period of script development

Well done to the team for actually getting a film made though I get the sense that this team were/are very connected within a certain strata of UK independent film making.. There's no other explanation for this films existence.

This won awards? I repeat... Really?

Not a Sci-Fi

[sdi1000 · 8/10 · 16 November 2018]

I love Science Fiction - and I love a good story. This was a really good story about relationships and how people treat each other. No action packed space thriller here - just a nice tale about a person who wants a bit more from her life.

The soundtrack is annoyingly repetitive - but otherwise, very watchable.

Depressing waste

[vanceawalker · 1/10 · 28 April 2019]

One of the most depressing movies I've watched in a LONG time. Watching through (fast forwarding when I just couldn't take any more) to the end, I couldn't believe that was it!

Like Amelie but rubbish

[olixilo · 1/10 · 25 July 2019]

Not worth elaborating on. Never made it to the end, thankfully.

Very dull

[christopherphelps-15175 · 3/10 · 1 August 2019]

Disappointingly slow and bland. I think one problem is the lead character is so weak and featureless that we can't relate to her. She's unhappy with her idiot boring husband but then she has little of interest to say either. Acting and dialogue do not convince. Not sure what awards this won.

There is no escape...

[Hornsmith · 3/10 · 26 April 2020]

Well, you could go for a short walk; as we're all in lockdown, this film may catch a few viewers. Beware; it comes across as a student film, and does seem attached to a college department. I was taken in by the name of Kate Ashfield, who narrates. There are a couple of good performances; the lead, Faye, and her European colleague do well. It seems to have won something, but not for the other characters, who are either cliches, or wooden extras. The incidental music, a repetitive waltz, is tedious.

I have never hated. Not until I saw this

[boydpeters · 1/10 · 15 November 2018]

If you like hipster indie music. You know, cliche person in smurf beanie, drinking the vegan soy late, lumberjack shift, this is for you. Fixed wheel bikes and typewriters. I'm dribbling on aren't I. That's because the film hurt to watch. It is 24 hours later and I am still full or rage, anger, hate even. I hated them all. One dimensional characters, atrocious script writing, terrible acting. Let's put lead character in cliche fringe, overly bright red lipstick, cutie dresses and cardigans, Lots of cardigans. And show her sitting down and looking up at the sky tilting her head, pursing her lips. Hands under bottom, shrug shoulders in. Oh god cliche. Or standing up and doing the same thing. And looking out the window and doing the same thing. Actually No, the Romanian who topped himself, him I liked. But he was just a plot device for us to feel sorry for her. Her husband was a one dimensional creep. The neighbor a cliche funky guy with a cliche angry wife. The dinner scene physically hurt to watch. I watched this because after seeing that the good premise would not be delivered I wanted to know how bad they could make it up until the go to Mars thing. Because that was obviously what the film was about right, her choosing to find the freedom and come out of her cocoon and go to Mars. But no. The film was like a bad case of what constipation is supposed to be. I imagine just sitting there for 90 minutes with a stomach ache and nothing moves. And everything ached watching this tripe. My eye ached seeing her in another cardigan, or popping her head over the fence with her stupid innocent me smile. My ears hurt listening to that music. Did they get that for $5 on Fiverr? If so they paid too much. It hurt, physically hurt, my ears are still bleeding a day later. If people like listening to whistle/ flute/ ukelele/ drum music from car insurance and Apple adverts good for them, but 80 minutes of it? My brain hurt watching it. And my heart hurts seeing that they don't even have 5 friends prepared to write a fake nice review for them. And that should be your guide I'm guessing whoever wrote and directed this is a 28 year old girl who has never left home, grew up reading Bronte, Woolf and Proust, doesn't drive, uses public transport and puts her bag on her lap and looks out the window just like this actress. The film is bad. It is boring. It is pathetic. It is not worth watching unless you are a unique hipster girl who can identify with the look or a guy who has not consumed enough soy and have a lot of self loathing. This film was not made for you or me. It was a "look at me" vehicle to showcase to peers in the industry and get a leg up that way. Don't waste your time.

Not an action movie! Gentle, sensitive and intelligent!

[carmelfinglass · 9/10 · 26 November 2018]

Seat 25 is a thoughtful piece of art. Highly entertaining, beautiful. It is a sensitive look at everyday life and how many of us including this central character, are not truly living. Faye realises that she is unhappy. She awakens to her real life and decides she needs to make a big change. The ticket to mars is a representation of this change and the leap of faith that many of us have to take in order to find true happiness and contentment.

Jeeez....

[simonpjlduckett · 1/10 · 24 July 2019]

Hard work. Much as I wanted to like it, it was just very hard work. The lead character was a drip who almost deserved being treated like a drip by the other characters.

This movie destroys families.

[matthamilton-79646 · 2/10 · 12 July 2019]

My sister picked this movie one evening. We don't talk any more.

Spoiler This move sucks so bad. I never want to see the actors again. One extra star for the camera operator for having to go through this and hopefully not ending up like the characters work colleague... 😒

Don't bother

[athol-heys · 2/10 · 16 July 2019]

Can't believe that I wasted the best part of an hour and a half on this. Absolutely nothing happens of any interest whatsoever. Please don't waste your time on this depressing film.

Great potential, not achieved

[graham-harvey · 4/10 · 6 August 2021]

Budget British.

Emotional angst and no space focus.

This film needs to be remade with a decent script.

5 out of 10

[lochynagar · 5/10 · 6 July 2019]

Like one reviewer here, I also wanted to like this movie but how it won so many awards escapes me. Others have enthusiastically praised or derided it here but in truth it deserves neither. Its not Sci-fi nor is it a deep meaningful look into the soul of a troubled existence in a dull and uninspired life. It felt two dimensional and lacking a spark dispite some decent cinematography and a promising storyline. I might need to watch it again to try and figure out what I missed, but I probably won't.

A genuine delight!

[info-89575 · 9/10 · 22 November 2018]

This film was a genuine delight. It was funny, moving and thought provoking. A very clever script and a stunning soundtrack. Good to see a truly great independent British science fiction. Definitely worth a watch! This film is certainly is not action packed, it moved along at a gentle pace that I really enjoyed.

I feel cheated - this has nothing to do with scifi, it is a boring melodrama

[snaxxx · 4/10 · 15 November 2018]

There is literally no scifi in this movie. a girl that feels misplaced in life wins a ticket to mars. the remainder of the film deals with her personal issues with her job, her hubby, her family - basically a melodrama at a slow pace and nothing really happening. tries very hard to be something it is not. simply lame and a waste of time.