Last Wednesday, with the television occupied by my housemates wanting to see where Winchester came in The Best Place/Worst Place To Live programme (we came second in the former!) I decided to catch up on my film viewing. The latest DVD I had rented was a British flick called London To Brighton.
This was at times a tough film to watch. It isn't for people who don't like a lot of swearing or gritty realism. It certainly won't be the kind of film I would watch with my grandparents, that's for sure. If you can stand that, though, and the often dark, gloomy plot of a prostitute and a twelve-year old girl running away to Brighton from something they've done in the capital city (hence the title) you're in for a treat.
The cast are excellent, most notably perhaps newcomer Georgia Groome as Joanne the young runaway. Really everyone is very good, but Georgia stands out particularly. Her role is demanding and not what you'd expect a twelve year old to be doing. The whole film is very well shot too, capturing a seedy side of England which we often ignore in the golden lands of cinema, and leave it to either newcomers or seasoned pros like Ken Loach to shoot.
There were a few problems with it, perhaps most importantly for me the length. I appreciate it was a low-budget film, but it was still too short. I was really enjoying it when it finished, so much so that I didn't want it to stop. I wanted to know more about the characters we meet in Brighton too - I don't think they were very well developed.
Apart from these problems, I found London To Brighton very enjoyable, and recommend it to anyone who likes gritty British cinema.
7/10
Laters.
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