This film kept getting pushed down to the bottom of my 'to watch' list, but I'm really glad that I got to it in the end.
It was refreshing to see a teenage pregnancy story that took us out of grimy (sub)urban life, instead offering expansive views of country and coastline. So although many of the themes were difficult and at times harrowing, these extreme wide shots gave us a bit of room to breathe.
This film also took us away from the female, or more accurately, the mother, which again is unusual for a story dealing with teenage pregnancy. Robbie's mum is always kept at a distance and behind a barrier, such as at the end of an unanswered phone. Subsequent to his rapid conception and birth, baby Elliot's mum is only seen walking in the background now and again. This allowed the film to effectively focus on father-son relationships spanning four generations.
However, this focus on the father figure almost left me craving a little feminine input, if only for the sake of balance. Luckily, the film delivered on this through the initially mute character, Nia, who has a story to tell and eventually manages to tell it.
Another interesting aspect to do with storytelling is the portrayal of the media. The newspaper headlines and TV snippets paint the picture of a dangerous, possibly armed menace. The film will then cut to young Robbie lovingly taking care of his child, thus undermining this face-of-evil built up by the media. We're reminded that this is about an individual on a journey.
After recurring references to drowning and water, Robbie's journey unsurprisingly culminates in a cliff edge. As with all ambiguous endings, I have an ambiguous response. Half of me applauds the film for ending with such suspense. The other half just wants to know what happened...
It was refreshing to see a teenage pregnancy story that took us out of grimy (sub)urban life, instead offering expansive views of country and coastline. So although many of the themes were difficult and at times harrowing, these extreme wide shots gave us a bit of room to breathe.
This film also took us away from the female, or more accurately, the mother, which again is unusual for a story dealing with teenage pregnancy. Robbie's mum is always kept at a distance and behind a barrier, such as at the end of an unanswered phone. Subsequent to his rapid conception and birth, baby Elliot's mum is only seen walking in the background now and again. This allowed the film to effectively focus on father-son relationships spanning four generations.
However, this focus on the father figure almost left me craving a little feminine input, if only for the sake of balance. Luckily, the film delivered on this through the initially mute character, Nia, who has a story to tell and eventually manages to tell it.
Another interesting aspect to do with storytelling is the portrayal of the media. The newspaper headlines and TV snippets paint the picture of a dangerous, possibly armed menace. The film will then cut to young Robbie lovingly taking care of his child, thus undermining this face-of-evil built up by the media. We're reminded that this is about an individual on a journey.
After recurring references to drowning and water, Robbie's journey unsurprisingly culminates in a cliff edge. As with all ambiguous endings, I have an ambiguous response. Half of me applauds the film for ending with such suspense. The other half just wants to know what happened...