Heartlands (2002) - Details

Hopelessly devoted to his wife Sandra (Jane Robbins), Colin (Michael Sheen) spends dreary, unvarying days running her little newspaper shop and failing to notice her affair with local policeman and darts team captain Geoff (Jim Carter). He's so passive and eager to please that he doesn't seem to mind the emptiness of his life. He even refuses to make a drama out of a crisis when the couple run off together to the darts regional final in seaside resort Blackpool, the "Las Vegas of the North". Revving up his trusty moped, he simply heads off after them, determined to win her back and restore the status quo. Liberated from the miserable certainties of his daily routine, Colin starts to savour the wide world of possibilities that he has previously denied himself. He meets new people, finds kindred spirits and experiences life. In all those small encounters, awkward moments and little triumphs, we witness his metaphorical transformation from ugly duckling to graceful swan.