Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story

A quirky little British film with bags of promise, Tristram Shandy turned out to be a crushing disappointment. Based on the 1759 novel The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Lawrence Sterne, it – like the book from which it borrows its title – spans the eternity between the initial birth pangs of its protagonist and his emergence from his mother… with innumerable digressions. In the case of the book, Tristram Shandy digresses upon Locke, Swift, Pope, London society and European politics. As portrayed in the film, he digresses upon the film.

After an engaging beginning, in which an adult Tristram Shandy discourses with other actors portraying him at earlier stages of his life and the other characters in the movie, the actors doff costume and engage mobile telephones. The bulk of the film concerns the private life of the principal player and his co-stars. The closing credits are easily its most welcome feature.