...at least, not in this film, in which a lot of pretty visual and verbal ideas float around without ever finding a purpose.
Full transparency: I met the writer/director Alex Taylor in the Tin Café in Hackney shortly after he completed this. He seemed a lovely guy, thoughtful and unassuming, so I really wanted to like his film.
And I nearly did. It pulled off enough early on with its punky kids talking mock confident nonsense and grungy camera-work that I genuinely perked up. But I was flagging by the middle and even a little irritated as it wore on. There is a redemption arc, but it is not earned; there is a theme - of escape to another world - which is hammered too relentlessly and without enough narrative justification to weave any kind of spell; there are decently drawn characters who go nowhere; there is even a sort of twist, but it is not surprising.
Still, hopefully all the potential presages something better from Taylor. And I'd say anyone interested in low-budget UK filmmaking should see this. It appears to indicate a funder openness to interesting approaches, and, at the same time, well, the bar doesn't seem set that high. Surely someone with a decent script can come along and knock one into this open goal? OK, good scripts - that's the hard part. Still...
Full transparency: I met the writer/director Alex Taylor in the Tin Café in Hackney shortly after he completed this. He seemed a lovely guy, thoughtful and unassuming, so I really wanted to like his film.
And I nearly did. It pulled off enough early on with its punky kids talking mock confident nonsense and grungy camera-work that I genuinely perked up. But I was flagging by the middle and even a little irritated as it wore on. There is a redemption arc, but it is not earned; there is a theme - of escape to another world - which is hammered too relentlessly and without enough narrative justification to weave any kind of spell; there are decently drawn characters who go nowhere; there is even a sort of twist, but it is not surprising.
Still, hopefully all the potential presages something better from Taylor. And I'd say anyone interested in low-budget UK filmmaking should see this. It appears to indicate a funder openness to interesting approaches, and, at the same time, well, the bar doesn't seem set that high. Surely someone with a decent script can come along and knock one into this open goal? OK, good scripts - that's the hard part. Still...