Wallace Avery (Colin Firth) has basically frittered his life away – including his work and all his primary relationships. So he decides to fake his death and reinvent himself as Arthur Newman, pro-golfer. He’s joined in a road trip by a damaged and fragile young woman (Emily Blunt) and the two of them basically spark off each other’s negative bits for the rest of the movie.
So, I didn’t enjoy Arthur Newman. The combination of ruined lives, mental illness, housebreaking and two of Blighty’s finest doing American accents just didn’t sit well with me. Plus it was a bit boring. Why do people make films about this stuff if they’re going to make it boring? It was billed as a comedy drama and I just found it tragic. The cross country locations are all North Carolina.