Stuart: A Life Backwards (2007 TV Movie) User Reviews

Great film!!! Watch it!!!

[d-taker · 9/10 · 29 October 2008]

This is the first time I've commented on IMDb but this film deserves to be seen by more people so I thought I'd give it another positive review. To begin with I thought Tom Hardy, who played Stuart, turned in an excellent performance and I'm sure we'll see plenty more from him in the future. Despite being a knife-wielding, psychopathic, booze hound even from the beginning, I felt empathy for his character, its hard not to. All of the acting is as good as the script allows but Hardys performance just shines through. However its really the story, told backwards, thats the reason this is such a enchanting film. Having read the book a couple of days ago i can also add this film, refreshingly, is very true to, and just as good as, the book. I've no idea if it was on TV or has been released on DVD, but if you get the chance watch this film, its thought provoking, heart wrenching, enthralling, funny, stomach churning, touching and it will be an eye opener to a lot of people.

WATCH THIS FILM!

Could you reach out ... befriend ... and accept a person time and circumstance has destroyed

[heatherwz · 8/10 · 15 October 2008]

I usually don't enter comments on movies but, for this I had to to ask all viewers to place themselves in the life of someone who's darkest days will carve forever who they are into their soul in the most tragic way. Could you try to begin to understand without judgment? Could you bare witness to one's self destruction up close and personal and accept that all they will take from you is understanding and acceptance, no help for they will not choose to life? So many times we mistreat people like Stuart... we fail to understand to them to offer them our hand if only for a minute, just to treat a human like a human.... This was a fantastic movie. Stuart even in his drunken and for the most part hard to understand words made me hope that this movie would have a rainbow at the end, that he would recognize his importance to the world that had gone terribly wrong for him. He was a lovable character even in his dizziest state. He was intelligent and caring just not to himself. If you truly do what you must at times, which is struggle to understand what he says you will recognize his intelligence. He could focus to create change in something, he could decide to take a bull by the horns and fight for something as he does when the two individuals who help the homeless that are wrongfully imprisoned. Saving himself however was not something Stuart would have considered. The end leaves you questioning what really happened. Give this movie a shot. Dare to compare yourself to Alexander. Pose a tough question to yourself, how do you really treat others? I mean everyone... not just the homeless drunk but, the girl who made your burger at the drive-thru take away ... the fella who cleaned the bathroom at your office. We have become a society who are so self absorbed and self serving.. Could you pass the man on the street like Stuart and in the quiet of your own head throw a blessing to help that person find a light in the dark ?.. or do you pass them in disgust mumbling what a worthless human he is, treating them as societies throw a ways? This film was amazingly well acted, touching, and in the end I wished I could thank Alexander for his unconditional never judgmental way of living with and loving Stuart.

One of a kind

[fsfakianaki · 9/10 · 16 May 2019]

Had this film been a big studio production Tom Hardy would have gained his first Oscar

A Rare, Droll Film About Human Diversity And The Things We All Share

[Afzal-s2007 · 24 September 2007]

As Mark Twain once said, 'Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction', and that is certainly the case in Stuart: A Life Backwards.

A BBC Drama written by Alexander Masters, it is based on his acclaimed account of the real life of Stuart Shorter, a self-harming drug addict, career criminal (with a long history of violence), who is also homeless and suffers from muscular dystrophy.

This film, made for BBC TV, directed by veteran filmmaker David Attwood, is a dramatisation which skillfully and sinuously reconstructs the events that culminated in Alexander Masters publishing Stuart's unconventional biography. In an early scene, Stuart provides Alexander with the insight into how to write his unconventional book, 'Do it backwards...Like a murder mystery...what murdered the boy I was?' So Alexander sets out in this mode, trying to piece together the depressing, shocking trajectory of Stuart's life. But, unexpected to both men, in the process Stuart and Alexander become part of each other's life, transgressing socio-cultural boundaries and evolving a genuine, if eccentric, friendship.

This drama, unlike the majority of films based on extreme lives, does not simplify its subject, reducing its characters to two-dimensions eliciting cheap sentimentality. The characters in Stuart: A Life Backwards are not stripped of their complexities. Rather, they evince depth and subtlety. Stuart is not glamorised or victimised. He is vulgar, unfair, shockingly abusive, as well as sensitive, understanding and insightful. Nor is Masters made into a stock supporting character. He is at times the clear victim of middle class culture shock and has to fight his tendency to condescend. In short, they seem honest recreations of human beings.

Tom Hardy engages as Stuart, giving a tough and intelligent performance, and recreates his character's extreme physical traits with little mannerism. Benedict Cumberbatch also rises to his own, different challenge as Stuart's friend and witness with understatement and subtlety.

Stuart: A Life Backwards is a rare, droll, moving film that grows to understand the maddening complexity of life and subsequent near hopelessness in trying to find the factors behind someone's life. Instead, Stuart: A Life Backwards is a film about human diversity and the things we all share.

Brilliant and empathetic

[derdriui · 10/10 · 25 January 2011]

Really worth watching. A great performance by Tom Hardy (it's serious but the comic parts are done very brilliantly too, with a touch of Boycie from Only Fools and Horses).

Benedict Cumberbatch was very good.

The greatest thing here is the script. And the greatest lines come from Stuart Shorter. He seems like he was a very intelligent and very capable man who had a hard life and who made some bad choices. The film neither glorifies nor judges, just presents. Very good writing (or transcribing from the man) and good film making.

Really worth watching.

warm hard hitting brilliance

[nuttylou1980 · 10/10 · 7 January 2013]

This film is outstanding. Hardy has done a fantastic portrayal of stuart. This i know as my husband knew stuart shorter. The film is funny in places and warm hearted, but also very hard hitting. It made me cry because of how sad stuart was towards the end of his life. An alcohol drug addicted man who didn't see any real way out of his lifestyle. "convict curry" makes me laugh each time i watch it. I've lost count of how many times i have watched this film. I also have the book which is also a must have. This shows how two people from very very different backgrounds can become a huge part of each others life. And just how dark and sad somebody can become because of awful events in their life. Overall i love this film and if ever i did have the pleasure to meet mr tom hardy i would shake his hand and thank him for his superb work.

Hardy was already warming up for Bronson

[estebangonzalez10 · 7/10 · 21 August 2014]

"My name is Psycho but you can call me Stuart if you want."

Before his breakout role in Bronson, Tom Hardy showed his true potential in a small made for TV film, Stuart A Life Backwards. He co-stared along another relatively unknown at the time, Benedict Cumberbatch (at least outside of Great Britain). These are two huge A-list actors today who have starred as villains in blockbusters like Star Trek Into Darkness and The Dark Knight Rises among many other great films. So I was immediately attracted to this film when I heard it starred these two actors. It is a biography of a troubled alcoholic and homeless man named Stuart(Tom Hardy) who establishes a friendship with a writer and charity worker named Alexander (Benedict Cumberbatch). We've seen these dramatic films exploring similar issues of unlikely friendships done before, but Stuart gives it a unique twist by telling the story beginning from the back. Because lets face it when we first meet someone like Stuart we are shocked at their current condition and we take little time to try to figure out what may have caused this strange behavior. We see who the person is at the present and by establishing a relationship we slowly begin to uncover things about their past, and that is exactly how Alexander presents Stuart to the audience. Stuart is a rather unconventional character, and Tom Hardy plays him brilliantly. He is an alcoholic who suffers from violent outbreaks. He also has suicide tendencies and suffers from muscular dystrophy which has taken its toll on him. But most of the time Stuart is a kind man with a dry sense of humor. He tells his story in a rather funny way adding a tragicomic touch to this film. Despite the strong performances from Cumberbatch and Hardy the film works mostly because of the way the film is narrated. As we learn more about Stuarts past we begin to sympathize with him and realize where he is coming from. It isn't a great film, but it is solid and it showed the true potential these lead actors had.

The film does feel a bit rushed at times and it suffers from trying to add a lot of information in only 90 minutes, making some scenes feel chopped and forced. Director David Attwood benefits mostly from this emotional true story and these two actors, who happened to be the main attraction for me and the reason why this film is getting some distribution currently on HBO. It isn't a perfect film, but it has a masterful physical performance delivered by Hardy who was just getting warmed up for his upcoming and breakout role in Bronson. I really loved the quirky approach the film took in telling this true story (which was actually based on the successful biography written by Alexander Masters), but it's far from being a perfect and memorable film. The animated scenes that Attwood decided to introduce to tell some parts of the story were a bit disturbing and took me out of the movie at times. But every time I was let down by these scenes, Tom Hardy showed up with another impressive scene and brought me right back in. It is a masterful performance and one that shows his unique talent as an actor. I am also thankful I watched this film with subtitles because sometimes it was difficult to understand what he was mumbling about, but it was still great voice work from his part. Cumberbatch played a more restricted character, but he also has some emotional scenes near the end where he proves he's a talented actor. It is a film worth checking out if you are a fan of these actors.

A sensational story about the people that are ignored in today's society

[Oopsy66 · 10/10 · 4 October 2013]

A wonderful story told in a superb manner. WHY WHY hasn't this movie gone beyond UK. Unfortunately i have to say I saw this story on Youtube during my search of Tom Hardy movies after watching Warrior. I was completely mesmerized by the acting in this movie by both leading actors. Tom brought his soul into his character and I felt I knew what his Stuart was thinking just by his expressions etc. Tom Hardy is definitely someone to look out for, not for anything but his true ability to 'act'. I only wish I had the opportunity to see him on stage one day. This story is a must for all to see, see the story about faces of the people you walk past in the streets each day, the people that you ignore and forget about it. I highly recommend you take the time to watch it.

Slowly Disarms You As It Progresses

[speiglewill · 7/10 · 16 March 2022]

This started off as a boring and basic tv movie. As a fan of both the leads, I found myself underwhelmed by their performances. However, slowly but surely, I started to care for the characters and the story that was being told. Come to think of it, the storytelling is similar to how many of us treat homeless people off of first appearances. It's easy to be indifferent when we know nothing of that person, yet when we get a glimpse of their struggle and what brought them there, it can be an eye opener. Too bad the budget couldn't have been bigger and the story more time to be told. Regardless, I found myself thinking about this film long afterwards.

Brilliant in all possible ways

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 9/10 · 3 April 2012]

Here's an warming real life story transformed into a lovely TV film. It all starts when writer Alexander Masters (Benedict Cumberbatch) having plenty of available time on his hands decided to write the story of a homeless man he met while coordinating an campaign to release from prison the directors of a project that helps homeless people. The man in question is Stuart Shorter (Tom Hardy), an troubled and angered young man who has been arrested several different times, who suffers from a muscular dystrophy and lots of other problems as well but who happens to impress Alexander in a unusual way with some smartness, his humor and a great sense of friendship. And it is Stuart that gives Alexander the idea of writing his story in backwards. "Make it involving, do it like Tom Clancy. What murdered the little boy I was?" he says. And here begins the journey of finding who Stuart was and why he is the way he is now.

David Attwood directs "Stuart: A Life Backwards" with grace and wisdom, working with a depressive subject without sentimentalism and using of plenty of humor, some comic reliefs and a great deal of imagination throughout little animated segments (everytime Masters thinks of Stuart's ideas or picturing moments of his life). What separates this movie from many similar made by Hollywood is the honest portrayal of the main figure, without providing easy answers on why Stuart end up the way he ended. Just like the writer we keep putting the pieces together to form one and definitive Stuart, the man, but even with all the puzzle formed there's the sensation of looking at a distance and still we wouldn't comprehend the image quite right. A simple man, a tragic figure yet so intriguing, so interesting to follow. That's what captivated Alexander and that's what captivates us viewers.

And if the man with all his simplicity and his uniqueness in seeing the world is that fascinating on us is because the actor portraying him is all that as well. Well known for his action roles in pictures like "Rock N'Rolla" and "Inception" the great Tom Hardy gives his most impressive performance so far. Wheter angry, fragile, sick, eternally confused or just sharing a crazy thought, he makes all those feelings and reactions wonderfully. The mannerisms, the ticks, his slurred voice, a real character not an acting show, a perfect embodiment. And Mr. Cumberbacth doesn't get behind, he's very good and together they form a great team (as proved again in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy", even though there they a little bit opposite from each other).

"Stuart: A Life Backwards" is a good example of a film that doesn't need much to satisfy its viewers. You can watch over and over again, see new things on each view and see some positive and inspiring things. I highly recommend it. 9/10

Just more proof of how awesome Tom Hardy is!

[slaphappy-76398 · 10/10 · 8 April 2018]

I am always blown away by how Tom Hardy uses his voice & body to become a character, fictional or non-fictional. I can't wait to see another film with him in it...I've seen 'Mad Max:Fury Road', 'Dark Knight Rises', 'Inception' and 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', twice apiece. 'Legend' I have seen three times. He is an actor you just can't stop watching. I am very puzzled in the above list of plot keywords: pubic hair? male frontal nudity? Why are those the terms listed, instead of :alcoholism, addiction, friendship, childhood trauma? I do agree with the person who stated this a film most people should see. Addiction has a vice-like grip on large numbers of the globe at this time. This film could open eyes to how to navigate the social issue of addiction.

Good acting but boring

[melwinbauer · 5/10 · 16 January 2022]

At the end of the day, this probably wasn't worth the watch to be honest. Tom Hardy is cool, he and Benedict Cumberbatch deliver good performances, and the story is a bit interesting when taking the fact that it is a real story into account. However, the film is just boring, plain and simple.

Brutally human...and offers no easy answers

[tohu777 · 8/10 · 22 May 2015]

The first reel of this film is very deceiving: you might well think that it's a kind of dramedy, a clichéd story of a do-gooder yuppie activist expanding his horizons and finding his humanity through an acquaintance with a very quirky homeless man. But it's absolutely nothing of the sort. To judge by interviews with BBC producers, the director, and writer Alexander Masters, the final film matches the intentions they had from the start, to make something that wasn't easy and which captured this man Stuart Shorter in all his complexity.

Master's script is really compelling & tight. But it's the actors who drive the film: Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy together, more often than not in fairly tight sets merely talking. They were already both masters, back when this was filmed.

Tom Hardy's role here bears a vague resemblance to his work in Nicolas Refn's film Bronson; though I'd say that this film is even bleaker and more harrowing than Refn's. The eruption of Stuart's pain and self- hate is shocking, and Hardy doesn't ever hold back. The performance compares well to that of Robin Williams' in The Fisher King. In both cases, the actor enters a state that shocks you into concern for them rather than sitting in admiration of a modulated performance.

This is an incredibly bleak and brutal film, without the comfort of its having been a fiction.

Superb adaptation of a tragic eye-opening biography

[Shaca69 · 10/10 · 7 January 2008]

Alexander Master's book, Stuart: A Life Backwards, is a masterpiece and probably influences my rating here but I think this adaptation for the BBC captures all the elements of the story extremely well. Whilst some of the detail of the tragic events of Stuart's childhood are given little airtime, the impression is not lost and reflects the need to stick to 90 minutes per the BBC's commission rather than being the result misguiding adaptation.

The viewer is taken on a trip through the downs and downs of Stuart's incomprehensibly tough upbringing in reverse, starting with his present day life as a psychotic homeless junkie and moving back towards the climax of the movie which is the horrific abuse he suffered so young in his short life and how his dependence on the drug of violence was initially catalysed.

Stuart is superbly played by Tom Hardy and whilst it can take a while to tune in to his often quiet and Muscular Dystrophy affected voice, ultimately it only reflects on the quality of the performance that this aspect was not compromised for the viewers.

I was less satisfied by the casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as Alexander, the author who befriends Stuart through the biographical process. I'm sure he plays Alexander very accurately but I found it harder to believe in this character.

Finally, I wish the movie had focused more on the possible reasons for the final outcome. The book spends a good deal of time on the epilogue and when watching with my wife who had not read the book, I felt that I needed to explain more than perhaps ought to have been necessary. Having spoken to the director, David Attwood, he did convince me to a degree that it was better this way.

Regardless, as a self-contained piece of work, the movie is an amazing piece of work for all concerned and it deserves all the plaudits and credit it has received; not least for the input of Stuart's family and Alexander himself. I don't recall watching such a good TV movie in many many years Stuart Shorter, rest in peace; it wasn't your fault.

A must-see for fans of Tom Hardy or Benedict Cumberbatch

[angelofvic · 9/10 · 16 December 2014]

This BBC movie is fabulous.

It's a true story, based on the book of the same title.

Tom Hardy is Stuart Shorter, a gifted but troubled homeless man.

Benedict Cumberbatch is author Alexander Masters, who accidentally befriends him and finds him delightful company.

This is a must-see for fans of either of those actors.

Unexpected, real, quirky, funny, touching, and weird or occasionally disturbing, but not excessively so.

Mainly fascinating.

It's very well acted, and a moving film.

The film unfolds in a fascinating way, and is easy to follow and understand, while at the same time being very moving.

Definitely worth seeking out and viewing!

Heartbreaking yet truly amazing

[dunderellen · 10/10 · 22 June 2019]

I got very emotional when I watched this movie. There's just something about it that seemed genuine and real. Tom Hardy's acting was unbelievable, he really got into character. The story is heartbreaking from beginning to end and I think they did a good job on getting that fact into the movie. It felt like you could feel his pain and suffering through the screen.

Redefines bad

[steve-696-199676 · 1/10 · 2 March 2015]

The film starts of as a boring film about a charity worker writing a book about a homeless guy, Stuart, at one point about 10 minutes in Stuart tells him how awful such a book would be – man he got that right. The film goes on to save a little bit of cash buy substituting expensive flash-back sequences (that might require additional actors) by poor quality cartoons. The film progresses to get worse from that point.

If you really want to listen to the fairly realistic but random ramblings of a drunk homeless guy, set within a low budget film, this is the one for you. For EVERYONE else I suggest doing the world a favour by going to the supermarket/video-store and destroying all copies of this "film".

After watching half of the film I managed to convince my wife to press stop and cut our losses, so there is a chance, although unlikely, that the second half of the film is the best film in cinematic history, I'll not be renting the film again to find out.

Real

[AbyGayle-23652 · 10/10 · 27 August 2018]

Tom Hardy reminding us what good acting is. This film does the book justice. Hard to watch at times as it deals with issues so openly. Funny and sad. Brilliant.

My favorite so far Tom Hardys wok

[gwenette-spann · 10/10 · 20 October 2018]

It started off kind of slow but once it started going "mate" it was on. Excellent movie. I cried I laughed. The movie made me really see life through other people eyes have more compassion . I think it should be be reproduced now in the Durtrump era. 2018 , Anyway Tommy surely can act Excellent movie

A hidden gem

[emailmadhurimasen · 10/10 · 1 September 2020]

Unexpectedly came across this hidden gem. Brilliant performance in the role of the eponymous character by Hardy. Interesting documentary-esque direction. Why don't people talk about it more?

Monsters are created NOT born!! Tom hardy AGAIN becomes someone else, absolutely PHENOMENAL performance!!

[joiningjt · 9/10 · 11 June 2021]

Christian bale was my favorite actor I have many but it's the old have to pick 1 on a deserted island question. Tom hardy is now that #1 for me after 3 mind blowing movie performances this 1 was the 3rd, last week was bronson and the take was the 3rd. This us after many other performances but these 3 I had never heard of. If you want to take an acting class and see a professor in action WATCH those 3 performances. This moviexwas so incredibly moving, it just shoes how we vilify crimes and people without knowing why they do those things. We just want revenge and so called justice by not addressing the problem but making it worse. What stuart lived through was torture, hell, and we helped him by making it worse!! Why cure a problem when we can just store it away behind bars. Movie is a solid 8 but tom hardy is a OUTSTANDING 10!!!! Watching mr Hardy in a movie I never see him it's always the characters I see!!

Amazing

[tenpencefreddo · 10/10 · 21 September 2012]

I came across this movie when looking at information about Tom Hardy and when I saw a picture of him and Benedict Cumberbatch I thought that could be interesting...

How right a choice I made.

This movie is truly amazing. Heartwarming and touching and makes you realise that you judge people far too quickly.

A story about a tortured and troubled, yet lovely, caring man.

A story about a man, who despite his problems, still helped to campaign to help people he knew had been wrongly imprisoned.

Tom Hardy's performance as Stuart is sensational.

A must watch for anyone who hasn't seen it. I don't think I've cried that hard in a long time.

great story

[watcher2019 · 10/10 · 29 April 2020]

Yes everyone who is homeless has a story but they dont all meet someone who can tell it for them. No one wants to sleep on the streets unless it is the lesser of 2 evils. At times i have to tell friends this, who have a nice comfy life and think it is ok to sneer at the homeless. Lucky them i say. Imagine as a youngster life is so bad you choose to sleep on the very dangerous streets rather then go home to the monsters. Never an easy life. This film didnt really deal with Stuart living on the streets but why he came to be there.

How do they become who they are?

[broandsis-00439 · 10/10 · 10 August 2020]

Every criminal, no matter how bad has stories that wake the empath in you. There are incidents in life that murder the innocence in people. When did they become who they are and why did they become who they are? Wasn't it us, the people around them? Couldn't we have listened, couldn't we have understood? What does it take to save a boy? .. A picture of Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy together led me to watch this movie and I hadn't expected what an emotional and thought provoking journey it would turn out to be. It was Tom Hardy's acting and Benedict's narration that made this movie so extraordinary for me that at times I felt like I was watching their real life stories unfold before my eyes. Tom Hardy is such a diverse actor.

More than worth watching

[n_helinski · 8/10 · 4 June 2013]

Stuart: A Life Backwards does not have much going for it to make it popular. It was a British TV movie based on a popular but not widely known book. However, the story has more than enough heart to overcome any production limitations on this film.

The acting in this film is lead almost exclusively by Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch. It is hard to believe that these two were acting in such an unknown film at the time, as both have gone on to star in and gain critical acclaim for performances in "Inception" and "Star Trek: Into Darkness" respectively. Their performances here, however are at the very least equal if not far exceeding what they were able to accomplish in those film's.

Tom Hardy is know for his ability to transform for a role; body, voice, mannerisms, etc. It is truly exceptional when an actor I know so well completely disappears into a role. There is no hint of the charming Eames, or intimidating Bane (except in one particular scene). His performance is outstanding and above all, believable, which is highly important for a role such as his.

Benedict Cumberbatch's character is developed and changed by his relationship with Stuart, and he plays him with subtlety, allowing the viewer to focus on the character they ought to be paying attention to. He is a very relatable character, from his initial discomfort with Stuart to his total transformation by the end. The two together work perfectly, and are completely believable unlikely friends.

The story itself offers a view into a part and a class of society that many of us tend to shy away from. Watching the film, we realize how many people we have seen like Stuart, but have been far too uncomfortable or caring to bother giving them our time. The film does not, as Alexander puts it "make excuses for Stuart", it simply displays his life as it happened, and we are left to make our choice on what "killed the boy he used to be".

The production is very simple. There is rarely a close-up, and the cinematography is, to be honest, boring. But little more can be expected of a TV movie. However, as I said, the story and the characters are what make the film, and they are more than enough to give good reason to watch it.