Michael Winterbottom's TRISTRAM SHANDY : A COCK & BULL STORY is an inventive adaptation of the notoriously unfilmable British comic novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, written by Laurence Sterne. Skipping bakc and forth between the 18th century and the efforts of 21st-century filmmakers attempting to shoot the classic, the film stays true to the manic spirit of the book. Narrated by Tristram Shandy (Steve coogan, 24 Hour Party People), the story focuses on his life from conception onward, with numerous digressions and unfinished thoughts. Crammed with literacy jokes and dark humor, and aided by stellar performances by jeremy Northam (Gosford Park) and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Shandy's warped the tale reveals far more about himself than any coversational autobiography.
