A good movie

As usual with my film club, I didn’t know anything about it before watching this movie. However, I have to admit that I was actually already familiar with Andrea Arnold’s work and there was a similar vibe to her previous movies ‘American Honey’ and, above all, ‘Fish Tank’. As far I was concerned, I was actually slightly bothered by the lack of context though. I mean, sure, it was taking place nowadays in England but I couldn’t pinpoint where (it was apparently taking place in Kent in the south of England). Anyway, if you ever wondered what was the current state of affairs in England, well, I’m afraid it is pretty bad, that’s for sure. Indeed, apparently, nobody works, nobody goes to school, and all teens are destined to become parents even before they become 15 years old so the present (and the future) is pretty bleak. In spite of the barren environment, it was still a beautiful movie though but, even though you might expect something hyper-realistic, Andrea Arnold did add some fantastic elements but it is really an acquired taste though. Concerning the acting, Barry Keoghan gave here another really solid performance showing that he is slowly becoming one of the most interesting actors at work nowadays. In almost all her movies, Andrea Arnold went for people without any acting experience to play the lead, it is quite incredible what she managed to get from them and this movie was no exception. Indeed, Nykiya Adams (who was really 12 years old when the movie was made) was the one who really had to carry the whole thing and she was quite spellbinding to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really blow me away, it was still a solid drama and it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre. 

7/10