Directed by
Paul Andrew Willliams
85 minutes
Rated R
Reviewed by
David Michael Brown
London To Brighton
Synopsis: Joanne, a young girl from the Midlands has run away from home. Living on the streets of London she is seemingly befriended by a prostitute, Kelly. Her life descends into the terrifying world of London’s underbelly when the schoolgirl’s first trick goes horribly wrong. Soon the pair are on the run from their pimp and a gangster so they head to the seaside town of Brighton to lie low.London to Brighton, the mere mention of the two British cities in Williams’ film brings memories of Mods and Rockers fighting on the beach, The Who’s rock opera Quadrophenia, Ealing comedies and saucy postcards sold on the seaside promenade. Paul Andrew Williams striking debut feature couldn’t be further from the rose-tinted view of these British pop-cultural motifs. This is a warts-and-all look into a side of city life rarely talked about, let alone depicted on the silver screen. Child prostitution, paedophilia, drugs and violence all feature prominently as we follow the life of a young girl, homeless and at her most vulnerable. The director perfectly judges the controversial subject matter and has produced a modern classic of British cinema.
At the heart of the film is Georgia Groome as Joanne. It’s an amazing performance. Following Thomas Turgoose and his outstanding turn in This is England, the future of British film is certainly in good hands with young performers like these treading the boards. The young actress shows remarkable versatility, considering she is still at school and has to deal with situations that no child should ever face. Lorraine Stanley also gives a truly believable showing as Kelly; the prostitute who brings Joanne into this whole sorry mess. The male performances do descend into cliché at times; the cockney gangster argot, post-Guy Ritchie, has been done to death, but the scenes between Sam Spurrel as Stuart Allen confronting the young Joanne are incredibly unnerving to watch. Director and writer Paul Andrew Williams won best new director at the Edinburgh Film Festival and it’s an honour well deserved. He shows a deft hand with his young actors; especially during some uneasy scenes of child prostitution. His script is also efficient and perfectly-paced - there is absolutely no slack here.
London to Brighton harks back to the halcyon days of the great British thriller and films like The Long Good Friday rather than the flashy vacuous modern day gangster films. In fact despite the crime element the film doesn’t glorify or dwell on this element of the story which makes the film even more refreshing. The focus is on the young girls and how their shattered lives are descending to hell. This is a gritty, adrenaline-charged tale that doesn’t come up for air but amidst the squalor are two hearts beating strong.
DVD Extras: The extras include deleted scenes, Georgia Groome’s original audition, behind the scenes featurette, outtakes, a running commentary by the director and a Q&A by many of the cast and crew at London’s Curzon Cinema.
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