Matt Shea
RubySoho
Morgan Bell
Cibbuano
David O'Connell
Mountain Fog
London to Brighton
March 9th 2008 22:34
The film has been heavily lauded with awards, and the reviews have been mostly gushing with compliments. It was shot on a shoestring budget, but the film is absolutely stunning to watch, running thick with heavy imagery and realism.
"London to Brighton" centers on a young girl, played magnificently by Georgia Groome, who is a runaway and becomes a child prostitute. The rest of the movie revolves around her as the adults fight and bicker over her like angry, swarming parents.
There's a heap of nasty British gangsters in the flick, reminding us that guns are not essential for evil people to run the streets at night... Williams films confidently in the darkness, letting the shadows fall across his actor's faces, as if sunshine would scorch their skin. The trailer tells you exactly what this is going to be like:
The authenticity is incredible, the dialogue, fresh, but these factors are secondary to the most impressive result of "London to Brighton" - the overwhelming presence of guilt. Every adult in the movie has a tough exterior, hardened in the concrete jungles of London, but down in their core, they know what they're doing is wrong, and they're accountable to someone else. As Peter Bradshaw writes in the Guardian:
"...its violent criminal men, no matter how high up the food chain, are unglamorous inadequates, all afraid and ashamed of something."
How far have these criminals fallen, that they'd allow a young girl to work as a prostitute? It's reprehensible, perhaps one of the most vilest acts possible, and it rests heavily on the script. Every time Groome smiles after the ordeal, it's as if the clouds parted for a split second, just to illuminate the frame. This is good cinema.
Joanna, the little girl, is really a sweet young thing, born to play at the seaside, or at the arcade... circumstances have forced her to toughen up, and she strives to be as iron-clad as Kelly, the older prostitute that takes her away.
Even Derek, played by Johnny Harris with impressive depth, knows that his role is wrong. Williams does a brilliant job of filming Harris in closeup, allowing the viewer to watch guilt behind his open eyes; some scenes make Harris look like Kim Bodnia in the notorious "Pusher". He's gone too far, though, committed to a life of crime, and is an unwilling villain.
It's a brutal film to watch, with some uncomfortable subject matter. Where other films would sit back on their heels, allowing their criminals to talk 'mockney' and get ultra-violent, "London to Brighton" makes everyone human, even the proto-humans. This is a movie that'll put your back up against the wall, covering your throat in defense. It's savage and unflinching, with the raw stench of the underbelly of London, but still painfully human enough to make the stoniest viewer exhale loudly.
"London to Brighton" will be released on DVD in April by Siren Visual.
I say: An excellent film, worth watching many times.
"...it's the best British film of the year."
See it for: Johnny Harris, playing Derek, and Lorraine Stanley, playing Kelly, are outstanding in both their roles, showing remarkable complexity and depth.
*this image is from Britfilms.tv
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Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I most definitely want to see this one...
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Tracy
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Thanks for that info,
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Tracy
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Joanne Fedler
We got London to Brighton out on dvd last night...., lordy lord. Whew. What an amazing film. The adrenalin nearly made me giddy. It was one of the hardest films I have ever watched. But the scripting and the acting was astonishing. Thanks for your review - had it not been for my reading it here, I probably would have missed this one, but it jumped out at me on the shelf.
Can I ask for some help please? I have just done a review of Death at A Funeral which I couldn't watch and mentioned your review of London to Brighton, but don't know how to link it to your review. Can you talk me through this? Thanks.
Jo
Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Joanne Fedler
Dear Frankie (Irish film, I think about a deaf boy)
Marilyn Hotchkiss's Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (with my gorgeous John Goodman)
and a Tommy Lee Jones movie called 'Three Burials' (the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada)
What I'm so pleased about, is that if you recommend something as good, I know I will appreciate it too - and so often this is about taste, isn't it?
Please see Death at A Funeral and tell me you hated it.... please.....
Jo
Comment by Cibbuano
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I've heard of that tommy lee movie, but it flew under the radar a little. The others I haven't seen - but if you review them, I'm definitely interested!