Already a successful actor, Richard Ayoade added on music video director before making a (seemingly temporary*) move to feature film writer/director with this winning, if familiar coming-of-age story. Set in a blessedly non-eccentric/whimsy-free Wales, the tropes are all intact (get thru high school; keep from being called on in class and called out by school yard ‘toughs’; find a likeably contentious girl to lose your virginity to; avoid embarrassing talks with Mom & Dad) bringing in fresh laughs that avoid cringe comedy. 15-yr-old Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts, debuting with fully formed deadpan comedy chops) gets thru most of that list by the end of the first act, helped by Yasmin Paige as Jordanna, the contentious girl he likes. After that, concentrating on the film’s more original ideas. Namely: trouble with parents. For Jordana, a sick mom; for Oliver, Mom’s prodigal former boyfriend (Paddy Considine), now a self-help guru pushing VHS tapes. Yikes! He’s taking advantage of a rift between Mom & Dad (Sally Hawkins/Noah Taylor, both super). Complications often funny, always believable, laid out in a pleasing visual style that takes advantage of 35mm film stock for a look that borrows equal measures of‘60s French New Wave and Bill Forsyth’s 1980 GREGORY’S GIRL* without pushing the idea at us.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/LINK: *Though continuing with his acting career, Ayoade only has one other feature credit, THE DOUBLE/’13 - not seen here, Even worse than the ill-fated trajectory of GREGORY''S Bill Forsyth who was effectively dumped by Hollywood after two more successes (LOCAL HERO’83; COMFORT AND JOY/’84) and four Hollywood misses. Hardly heard from after 1994. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/11/local-hero-1983.html https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2019/08/comfort-and-joy-1984.html
No comments:
Post a Comment