Movie Review: One Chance

A rocky childhood, a supportive wife and a passion for opera leads shy mobile phone salesman Paul Potts (James Corden) to the stage that would change his life. The Nanyang Chronicle discusses the merits of the biopic of Britain’s Got Talent’s first winner.

By Michelle Leong

PHOTO: THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

One Chance

Biography, Comedy, Musical [PG]
James Corden, Julie Walters, Colm Meaney
106 minutes

A rocky childhood, a supportive wife and a passion for opera leads shy mobile phone salesman Paul Potts (James Corden) to the stage that would change his life.

After winning the first Britain’s Got Talent (BGT) in 2007, opera singer Potts has gone on to perform at sold-out world tours, release a hit album and publish One Chance, a memoir that chronicles his journey to stardom.

The movie — not adapted from his memoirs — follows Potts’ life from early childhood to his momentous win. Although this may seem like a typical rags-to-riches story, his struggle to overcome adversity and turn his life around is a heartwarming, Kleenex-worthy tale.

Bullied by his peers for his pudgy looks and love for singing, the film shows a young Potts getting chased down the streets of Port Talbot, Wales, and beaten up by kids.

Things do not look up for Potts even in adulthood. While his mother Yvonne (Julie Walters) adores his singing, his opera obsession often meets with his father Roland’s (Colm Meaney) disapproval. This recurs throughout most of the movie, which becomes a stumbling block that prevents Potts from pursuing his passion.

Case-in-point: While a grown-up Potts is deeply absorbed in opera music flowing from his CD player, his father pulls the cord and dishes out unpleasant advice on focusing on his salesman job instead of dreaming of becoming an opera singer.

Against his father’s wishes, and with encouragement from the woman behind him, “Julz” Julie-Ann (Alexandra Roach) and his hilarious best friend Braddon (Mackenzie Crook), Potts heads to Venice to take up an opera masterclass. This would give him a shot at singing for his idol, the renowned Italian operatic tenor Pavarotti (Stanley Townsend).

However, despite hours of practice with his assigned partner Alessandra (Italian actress Valeria Bilello) and a hilarious sputtering of broken Italian, nerves get the better of Potts and he is rejected by Pavarotti. This, along with several accidents that almost leave his appendix ruptured, eventually reduces Potts to a mess — he sinks into depression and drowns in debt.

But with Julz’s constant support and his undying love for opera, Potts takes a last shot at singing and signs up for the show that would turn his life around.

Director David Frankel (from The Devil Wears Prada) has successfully translated real life to reel life, even if some parts of the film blur the line between reality and exaggeration.

For one, unlike the failed performance Potts gave for Pavarotti in the movie, the real masterclass session actually went well. Also, the movie plays on Potts and Julz’s false online celebrity personas, which are referenced throughout the movie. But in reality, no fake identities were used when they met online.

Usually, bits of scripted reality do not work well for biographical films, as they tend to contradict the idea of the movie being ‘based on a true story’. However, this worked well for One Chance, where Potts’ hardships were suitably emphasised.

The main letdown were the characterisations of Potts and his father in the movie. Frankel’s eye for detail will impress fans –– he nailed it right down –– from the styling of the characters down to bashed teeth. However, Corden’s mildly jovial and smiley portrayal deviates from the stoic, reserved Potts that the world saw at the BGT auditions. While this portrayal of Potts may not sit well with some members of the audience, it brought a different dimension to the character.

Meaney, while particularly convincing as Pott’s unsupportive father, did not make a satisfactory change of heart in the movie. Instead, his newfound pride for his son felt too rushed and slightly forced.

That said, the rest of the supporting cast complemented each other and lent a lighthearted touch to the movie with their amusing antics and British wit.

Potts’ story is one of trying times and rejection, but also one of hope and love, which Corden and Roach managed to enact beautifully. Even if you were not a follower of Potts, it’s easy to get lost in his journey towards the musical icon he is today.