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While movies about women who seem to strangely lack
mating instincts are crowding the screens lately - the most
recent female emotion-immune venture being Paper Heart -
films about unlikely surrogate maternal figures may be on
the upswing. Following on the heels of Tilda Swinton's kid-sheltering
alcoholic degenerate in Erick Zonca's Julia, is London To
Brighton's street hooker accessory to pedophilia, turned
preteen protectress with a heart of gold.***
Written and directed by UK filmmaker Paul Andrew Williams,
London To Brighton is a gritty, hellish inner city underworld
excursion morphing into incidental commuter crime thriller.
Lorraine Stanley is Kelly, a brash, hard bitten hooker who's
up for anything, as long as the price is right. But when
her loathesome pimp Derek (Johnny Harris) sends her out
on a mission to find a young girl somewhere to satisfy the
sexual perversions of a well-heeled customer, Kelly does
so with distaste for her assignment.***
After luring confused 12 year old runaway Joanne (Georgia
Groome) with food and cigarettes, Kelly accompanies her
to the swanky apartment of the aged pedophile. But in a
tense, serious second thoughts moment, she rescues the child
from rape by knifepoint, leading to the stabbing death of
the depraved john. And she then flees with the girl to a
friend's home in seaside Brighton. Meanwhile, Stuart (Sam
Spruell), the son of the dead man and a terrifying upscale
gangster in his own right, sends Derek to hunt down the
two fugitives, but not before slicing up his leg a bit for
good measure and more determined motivation.***
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Final Words:
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Despite several personally redemptive
plot points that take a far fetched turn, London To Brighton
is excruciating raw drama that is a cut above, so to speak,
typical gangster fare. Class and gender tensions and conflicts
abound, and sensitively crafted social realism combined with
complex character depth enriches the narrative, refreshingly
without need of a single special effect.*** |
