Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

SeeQuant Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Theo Robertson Film4 have been showing " The British Connection " which is a euphemistic title for British made film productions devoid of American funding . While this might be well and good to a degree what it does is show up the fault of British film making:producing films that are unable to shake off the feeling that they're television productions rather cinematic ones and sharing the same visual style THE SCOUTING BOOK FOR BOYS is a case in point . This was shown immediately after Shane Meadow's ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS and you'd be forgiven for thinking both films share the same director . Much of this is down to the cinematography where everything is brightly lit the colour yellow is rather prominent . In fact many of the films being shown such as LAYER CAKE and KILL LIST also have this visual look ( Though Matthew Vaughn style did make LAYER CAKE cinematic ) which led me to believe the same cinematographer was responsible for all the movies featured. I was shocked to learn this was not the case There's also a similar type of feel to the narrative . It's poignant , bitter-sweet and not entirely plausible . At the risk of sounding repetitive while reviewing these type of Brit flicks I was reminded of these PLAY FOR TODAY that were getting broadcast on a weekly basis by the BBC in the 1970s . Unsurprisingly both the director and screenwriter have a background in television In that case I won't be too critical because there does seem to be an element of the film being produced as a cinematic calling card by the director and obviously the budget is always going to be a worry in this type of production . That said there needs to be something stronger in order to grab the audience having a conveyor belt of British movies being broadcast on a channel means any viewer with a brain will quickly notice how similar contemporary films from this country are

Sindre Kaspersen English-born director Tom Harper's feature film debut which was written by English screenwriter Jack Thorne, was shot on various locations in Norfolk, England and premiered at the 57th San Sebastián International Film Festival in 2009. It is a UK production which was produced by Christian Colson and Ivana MacKinnon. It tells the story about David who lives on his own at a caravan park by the coast in the low-lying county of Norfolk. David spends most of his time with Emily, a same-aged girl who acts older than she really is and who lives with her mother. David and Emily share a unique bond and are in some ways like inseparable siblings, but their friendship is put to the ultimate test when they learn that Emily has to leave the caravan park to go and live with her father. Instead of coming to terms with Emily's parents decision, they plot out a way to prevent it from happening and has Emily hiding in a cave nearby. Initially their plan works out fine, but when Emily's mother and a security guard named Steve begins to worry that Emily has gone missing, the police are contacted and Emily tells David a secret that changes his perception of Emily and their relationship. Finely and acutely directed by first-time filmmaker Tom Harper, this well-paced and compassionately narrated fictional tale which is told from the protagonist's point of view, draws an intimate and intriguing portrayal of an unconditional friendship that evolves into an emotional conflict. While notable for its atmospheric milieu depictions and the fine cinematography by cinematographer Robbie Ryan, this character-driven and narrative-driven thriller contains some profound scenes between the two main characters, a brilliant score by English-born television, theatre and film composer Jack C. Arnold and examines themes like coming-of-age, friendship, family relations, love and jealousy. This somewhat romantic psychological drama which depicts a gripping and internal study of character, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, the understated and involving acting performances by English actor Thomas Turgoose, English actress Holliday Grainger in her second feature film role and the fine supporting acting performances by English actor Rafe Spall and Northern Irish actress Susan Lynch. A compelling independent film which gained the award for Best British Newcomer Jack Thorne at the 58th BFI London Film Festival in 2009.

colinmetcalfe A picture post card perfect movie, unfortunately like a postcard there isn't much room for the message! With me films that are almost there make me more angry than complete turkeys because you're left thinking what a waste. This is the case with TSBFB. The set up is perfect, the photography exceptional- iconic in parts, the characters well drawn with great acting from the two young central characters. The second half fails to deliver though - why? I'm afraid for me it is the script. It thins out and gets a little desperate relying on the young male leads tendency to suffer a narcolepsy attack every time the story gets into difficulty! There is no real climax and I think this was a brave attempt to not follow the formula, but if you haven't got one then you need something else and this film didn't hence my sense of anti-climax.

Ali Catterall So who was she, the girl you desperately tried to convince yourself was more like the sister you never had? The one who locked you in the toy box of her heart like some dependable old teddy with a glassy stare and a permanently knitted frown, as she parcelled out her favours in front of you? For David (Thomas Turgoose), being that "brotherly" best friend to Emily (Holly Grainger), a girl he's known all his life, just won't cut it anymore. Focusing on adolescent urges turned jealous, possessive and cancerous, The Scouting Book For Boys describes a day-glo dream plummeting into nightmare.As it opens, the teenage pals are depicted at their Norfolk coastal resort leaping between rows of caravan roofs at sunset: a gorgeously photographed shot perfectly encapsulating the giddy rush and risks of youth. For now, everything is ice creams and waterslides, sunshine and sherbet. There's even that Noah and the frickin' Whale hit on the soundtrack, and you can't get sunnier than that. Then things start turning crap: when an unwilling Emily is packed off to live with her divorcée dad, David helps her hide out in a cave on the beach. ('How to hide yourself' being a section in Baden-Powell's near-eponymous handbook.) But Emily's motives for lying low are more complicated than David imagines. And when the truth is uncovered, the film takes a lurching left turn into Hell-by-the-Sea.Director Tom Harper and writer Jack Thorne (Skins) have both dealt with wayward adolescence before, and have proved extremely skilled at getting inside those scheming little brains. If the film's adult characters behave like dangerously overgrown children, the kids think they're grown-ups way before their time. Wearing an expression like a bruised knee, Turgoose continues to build on a diminutive but hugely impressive CV; while Grainger, playing slightly younger than her actual age, and sharing superb chemistry with her co-star, is just brilliant: equal parts girlish, manipulative and naïve. Like its protagonists, this is capricious, nuanced drama; just when you think you've a handle on it, it twists out of reach like a flipping fish. Catch it.