Rhys Ifans & Laura Linney in UK Comedy 'Onwards & Sideways' Trailer by Alex Billington September 5, 2026Source: YouTube "When the dark clou
Rhys Ifans & Laura Linney in UK Comedy ‘Onwards & Sideways’ Trailer
by Alex Billington
September 5, 2026
Source: YouTube
“When the dark clouds come – keep going.” Icon Film Distribution in the UK has revealed the first official trailer for an uplifting comedy titled Onwards and Sideways, an extra sweet romantic comedy about two people diagnosed with the same illness. This is premiering at the 2026 Toronto Film Festival this month, before it opens in the UK in November this fall. Two people with lots in common – a great sense of humour, a love of dance and they both have Parkinson’s. From acclaimed director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Onwards and Sideways stars Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney. A emotional and surprisingly humorous story of two people with lots in common – a great sense of humour, a love of adventure, and… an unexpected diagnosis of Parkinson’s. A powerful, life-affirming British drama – also featuring Monica Dolan and Rory Kinnear. This looks like a heartfelt & hopeful story of connection & intimacy while getting older. We always need nice stories like this to keep us going no matter what happens.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for John Madden’s film Onwards & Sideways, direct from YouTube:
Via TIFF: “The latest from Oscar-nominated director John Madden. Tony (Rhys Ifans) is a schoolteacher. Emma (Laura Linney) is a composer & piano teacher. Both lead busy lives in their charming East Anglia village — and both find their status quo shattered upon learning they have Parkinson disease. They meet, minutes after hearing the news, in the health clinic lounge, and immediately start to compare symptoms & strategies: Emma suffers a tremor — she dubs herself ‘Emma with the tremma’ — while Tony does not. Emma resolves to raise awareness while Tony prefers to keep his condition on the down low, so as not to endanger his employment. But as time passes, those ‘five good years’ their neurologist prognosed, their lives increasingly intersect mostly at the Parkinson ballet class, where they find community & each other.”
Onwards and Sideways is directed by Oscar-nominated English filmmaker John Madden, director of many other films including Ethan Frome, Golden Gate, Mrs. Brown, Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Proof, Killshot, The Debt, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Miss Sloane, and Operation Mincemeat just before this. The screenplay is from Paul Mayhew-Archer. Produced by Hilary Bevan Jones and John Gore. This is premiering at the 2026 Toronto Film Festival this fall as one of their Gala Presentations. Icon Film debuts Madden’s Onwards & Sideways film in UK cinemas starting November 6th, 2026 this fall. No US release date is set yet – stay tuned for updates. Look good?
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