Do you remember the first time you saw The Sixth Sense, or any film with a wicked twist in the tale? Do you remember how you sat there thinking ”hmmm? What’s all the fuss about?” and then finding out that he’d died? What had seemed tedious suddenly became sublime and Shalayman was catapulted into the big time. Shaking Cecelia is sort of like that but not. For a start they are both better looking than Willis.
The premise is fairly simple in that the eponymous Cecelia must undertake a road trip to attend a christening in Aberdeen. This would be a straightforward affair if only she didn’t have to face her past, deal with her depression and lay her demons to rest. To help her along the way is her best friend Joan, who is the kind of hyperactive passenger we all dread (”Are we there yet?”), but inevitably gets her into all sorts if bother.
Set against a chopped up Mini and a plot-defining multimedia backdrop, Shaking Cecelia is ultimately a good show but it does drag a little in places and is really about ten minutes too long. The duo, whilst both very competent players, do tend to labour the point a little and many scenes could do with being a little more compact.
Shaking Cecelia is an ambitious piece, and the eventual payoff is worth it, but with a few tweaks and a little more drive it could Le Mans rather than the London-Brighton Rally.
3/5
Richard Biggs
