Arthur & Mike

British duo Colin Firth and Emily Blunt deliver polished, tender performances in this worthy indie drama. Firth plays an unhappy former golf pro, now slumming it as a penpusher, who fakes his own death and reinvents himself as Arthur Newman (the film's original title). Heading off on a road trip to a new life in Indiana, Arthur meets suicidal thief Mike (Blunt), who also has reasons for travelling under an alias. The soul-searching journey is a rather familiar indie sub-genre, but it's freshened up here with an intriguing set-up and potentially interesting characters. However, the movie turns out to be the story of two rather dull and unhappy people who find each other, only to resolve to become slightly less dull and unhappy. The leads draw some empathy from the viewer, and put flesh on the message of not being able to run from yourself. But the story offers little resolution and its underdeveloped subplots set it on a road to nowhere. It really could and should have done more with the talent at its disposal.