Four men with little in common, other than their attendance of an alcohol rehabilitation course, bond over their love of booze at a nearby pub between sessions. Between pints and bouts of delusion and depression, three of the men hatch a plan to get money out of the fourth – a mansion-dwelling millionaire played by the great Hywel Bennett (Endless Night) in his final feature-film role.
A darkly comic satire on male fragility, Chris Cooke’s One for the Road is one of the great, unsung British films of the twenty-first century. Made in Nottingham using early digital cameras – utilising a beer-soaked, cigarette-stained palette – it avoids the clichés associated with British cinema and embraces the do-anything nature of its chosen format to become its own, distinct work. The film also showcases a fine ensemble of acting talent in not only Bennett, but also Rupert Procter, Greg Chisholm, Mark Devenport, Micaiah Dring and Johann Myers.
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Supplements
- Audio commentary with writer-director Chris Cooke, producer Kate Ogborn, and co-producer Helen Solomon (2004)
- Audio commentary with actors Greg Chisholm, Mark Devenport and Rupert Procter (2004)
- ‘One for the Road’: An Oral History (2022, 42 mins): retrospective documentary produced specially for this release, featuring interviews with Cooke, actors Chisholm, Devenport, Procter and Johann Myers, composer Steve Blackman, and camera operator Steven Sheil
- Workshop Footage (2002, 7 mins): pre-production materials featuring actors Devenport, Procter and Penny Linfield
- Character Studies (2002, 15 mins): improvisation exercises with Devenport and Procter
- Video Diaries (2003, 19 mins): Cooke and Sheil document the development of new projects after the release of One for the Road, featuring workshop excerpts with actors Devenport and Micaiah Dring
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
- Screenplay gallery: original shooting script
- Map of the Scars (1998, 11 mins): short film written and directed by Cooke, starring Andrew Tiernan
- Map of the Scars audio commentary with Chris Cooke (2004)
- Shifting Units (2000, 9 mins): short film written and directed by Cooke, about an alcoholic salesman, portrayed by Procter, that served as the inspiration for One for the Road
- Shifting Units audio commentary with Cooke, producer Helen Solomon, and executive producer Kate Ogborn (2004)
- Why I Hate Parties (But Pretend to Love Them) (2003, 11 mins): short film co-written and directed by Devenport, with photography by Cooke, and featuring cast members from One for the Road
- Gary the Rapper vs Stefan Blix (2014, 14 mins): short film co-written and directed by Devenport, with photography by Cooke, starring One for the Road composer Steve Blackman and Scorzayzee
- Whiskers and Jane (2016, 14 mins): short film co-written and directed by Devenport, starring Procter and Cosima Shaw
- Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Thirza Wakefield, archival interviews with Chris Cooke, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits