MOVIE REVIEW
The Scouting Book for Boys (2009)
The Times BFI 53rd London Film Festival
David (Thomas Turgoose) and Emily (Holliday Grainger) are the only staff kids in a vacation trailer park in Norfolk, the unfashionable part of England that’s the butt of every joke. David’s dad (Tony Maudsley) runs the pub, while Emily’s mother Carol (Susan Lynch) runs the convenience store. David and Emily are teenagers at that awkward stage between childishness and maturity. Emily in particular flips between flaunting her sexuality and throwing epic temper tantrums. Especially now the summer is ending, they spend all of their time together, swimming in the public pools, playing in the arcade, dreaming of adulthood. Then Emily learns Carol wants her to go live with her dad and disappears.
Continue reading “My Summer of Loss” »
MOVIE REVIEW
Somers Town (2008)
Optimum Releasing
Shane Meadows now finds himself at a crossroads after the success of "Dead Man’s Shoes" and "This Is England." While both films saw him refining his talent for earthy naturalism and homespun humor into something more substantial, both films arguably fall just short of greatness because of Mr. Meadows’s reluctance to fully examine the more complex themes he’d begun to experiment with.
All eyes will now be on "Somers Town" for any evidence of continuing maturity, but in that respect the film will disappoint many. It’s a pleasant enough comedy and isn’t really a bad film at all – it can hold its head up high in comparison to most British comedies – but just feels something of a backwards step for Mr. Meadows.
Continue reading “This Too Is England” »
