User Reviews

In a word, dreadful. All the hype I have encountered about this film can't disguise that it's just a slick-looking one-off comedy episode strung out over 90 minutes. For those curious enough to want to see it, don't bother. Life's too short. It's what movie execs call "high concept": the title and the cast is all you need to know, no further information is added through watching it. There's no difference between watching it and imagining what it's like. A couple of nice cameo moments with some old familiar comedy faces were OK, but in all the "originality" here is the film's claim to be at the cutting edge of distribution. Or something. Online distribution does have its drawbacks: It lacks a real audience, a fact borne out by the fact that all the reviews on this site appear to have been written by the movie's PR team. What else could explain their ridiculously gushing tone? Maybe that's part of the joke. And no, this film is not the future of movie distribution, any more than it's the resurrection of Christ, or the reinvention of the wheel. You can always see hype coming a mile off.

Being Sold asks the question – 'what is a human life worth?' Quite a deep question for what is mostly a very light-hearted film, though moments of seriousness break up the comedy as we see the lead character gain an understanding of what is happening to him.

The story centres on John Foster (Christopher Dane) a man from south Manchester who in a drunken haze following a row with his wife, lists himself for sale on an online auction site. A victim of the recession, his redundancy has made him feel inadequate compared to his wife Lara (Eva Pope) who has kept her job.

We join the story with just over an hour until the end of the auction and John is already attracting attention from the media. Pushy, ambitious reporter Maia Long (superbly played by Jessica Blake) is hot on the heels of the story, flattering John and attracting him with ideas of fame and fortune in order to get the exclusive. Meanwhile, there is excellent support from Lee Boardman as Chris, John's best-friend – a somewhat childish man who's antics leave Lara despairing and provider of some of the films funniest moments. There are also brilliant cameos from Lesley Joseph as John's mother, Roy Walker as a psychiatrist and Terry Christian.

As events unfold, the clock ticks down and the bids go up, the tension increases as John beings to see past all the media bluster and realise exactly what he has done and the consequences of his actions. In one of the film's most touching moments, he recalls the birth of his son and wonders how he got there. The last 5 minutes of the film as the auction counts down are tense, exciting, funny and there is a twist in the tale at the last minute that most will not have seen coming.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this film however, is that it was shot in just two days by award winning director Phil Hawkins on a budget of just £20,000. How they did this is explained in the hour-long documentary 'How did they shoot a feature film in two days?' Both this and the film are available to purchase from the website http://www.beingsoldthemovie.com/ Watch this film. You'll laugh and maybe cry but you won't be disappointed.

I really enjoyed 'Being Sold'! Lots of great observation of the media like the hook... er.. I mean author plugging her book and the footballer who is interviewed in a typical way! I liked the updating sensational headlines presented along side the actual comments which gave a funny comparison - all the many details like that which worked along with the story.

The story was good and full of great characters. It built some real tension as the climax approached and had sincere and funny performances, especially the slobby best friend.

All in all it was very enjoyable and even more amazing having seen the documentary about how it was made... A great piece of work

...but I'm going to give it a go anyway! This film is, without a doubt, the one to watch! It is clever, funny, emotional, real and brings together an amazingly talented and star studded cast! I don't think you could ask for more in a film unless it is of course the brilliant directing from Phil Hawkins and the fantastic work of the whole team that worked on the film for just 2 whole days! And all in the budget of £20k it just goes to show that money can't buy talent ... so it's a good job these guys were born with it! The tale of John Foster and his drunken attempt to gain financial security in today's recession by selling himself on an online auction site not only lands him in serious trouble with his wife but also gains copious amounts of unwanted attention from the media. As you see the bidding war unfold, performances from the cast will have you in tears, both happy and sad, but nothing will prepare you for the ending. A big risk to take but it definitely paid off! This film deserves the praise and attention its receiving (and more) and most definitely deserves more awards! EVERYBODY GO WATCH!

Loved this film. Even my mum loved it...and that's saying something. A really easy film to watch, that keeps you hooked all the way through.

It's a great, well written film with lots of funny moments. It keeps you wondering how its going to turn out throughout and then the ending gives you something to think about too!

I totally recommend this film and it's easy to get hold of too. You just have to go to the site and download it.

I haven't watched the documentary yet, so i cant comment on that. It will be interesting to see how it was made though after watching the film!