Stefan Schwartz's comedic road movie is a chance to see an earlier performance by the new Doctor himself Peter Capaldi. Capaldi also wrote the semi-autobiographical screenplay and plays the lead character Gavin Bellini, a Glaswegian who left Glasgow for London to study art and after years living in the Big Smoke has lost touch with the family he left behind. Gavin finds himself having to confront his past though when he is given an ultimatum by his uncle to be in Glasgow for his sick father's birthday party or face being cut out of any inheritance from the family's successful ice cream business. Anybody who has left home to study or live elsewhere can relate to Gavin's sense of disconnection and the difficulties faced by being never truly able to go back. Soft Top Hard Shoulder isn't just worth revisiting for Capaldi, Schwartz has also experienced somewhat of a creative renaissance in recent years, garnering critical praise for his work on Being Human and later acclaimed American shows such as House, Dexter and The Walking Dead to name a few.
As well as the odd article, I apply my "special mind" to scriptwriting for Comics, Films and Games... Oh and I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flow'rs, I put on women's clothing, and hang around in bars.
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