Expresso is a series of eight micro-stories, that develop the viewer as they watch the visitors during one day, to one table in a typical UK coffee shop:
"Autopilot" - a man taking breakfast with his wife, is more involved with his daily paper than the conversation that takes place around him, leading to an amusing crossing of wires.
"The Liar" - a businessman who desperately wants to spend the afternoon with his plate of pastries, to the amazement of the waitress resorts to blatant lies to achieve this.
"Herbal Tea" - a couple meet for coffee. But the lady who has opted for the healthy option, namely a "Herbal Tea", has her eyes on her partner’s cream-topped drink.
"Breakfast with Deniro" - catch the conclusion of a typical lovers' tiff
"Normal Coffee" - with echoes of Six Easy Pieces, sees a working man fighting the system in his own way to get his plain and simple drink against the advice of the pompous waiter.
"BUZZ" – a vicar with writer's block sits waiting for inspiration as he tries to write his next sermon, only to be targeted by a vicious vindictive fly.
"Can I Help You?" - a young lady is frustrated and struggling with a shrink-wrapped cake, when a man sitting opposite takes his chance to impress by offering to help open the wrapper. Things never work out how you expect!
"End of the Day" - the last person to leave the café is an old lady who is obviously upset. The waiter has little sympathy, but the waitress takes the ultimate revenge.
Production
The film was an idea of producer and actor Martin Nigel Davey who described it as "Breakfast with DeNiro" set in a coffee shop. He also told Kevin Powis about several other ideas that could take place in this setting, after which the decision was made to give other people the chance to collaborate. They put out a call for stories and quickly received over 150 submissions from which they chose the eight best entries which Powis worked into a screenplay they could use to request funding. The appointed script advisor from UK Film Council liked the script and the duo was given a budget of £8,500. Screen West Midlands also supported the film. After funding was secured, Nigel Davey contacted actors and while negotiations were ongoing Powis tailored the script to the individual actors. Filmed in Bromsgrove, the director of photography was Simon Wyndham, with the entire production process taking a year. Post-production saw Powis edit for eight hours at a time each day to hit the required deadlines. Still photography was done by Darren Seymour.
Norman Wisdom came out of retirement to participate in the film. Initially given a visual role so he wouldn't have to remember his lines, during filming he was alert and making people around him laugh, so Davey and Powis kept changing his performance to elicit more laughs. He recorded a message that was included on the DVD, in which he tells how much he enjoyed working on the film saying "every minute was worth an hour". The DVD also includes a foreword by Judi Dench. Wisdom's appearance in Expresso was officially his final acting role, as he died in a care home on the Isle of Man at the age of 95 on 4 October 2010.
