Junkhearts [DVD]

I've just seen Junkhearts at Chapter Arts centre in Cardiff.
I saw Junkhearts solely because I'm a big fan of Eddie Marsan and wanted to see him in a lead role, as I think he's a fantastic actor with a great range and a lightness of touch. As expected Eddie Marsan was fantastic, here playing an ex-solider, and brought a freshness to quite a now archetypal character. Familiar as this archetype is, the character is normally played out in a flat depressed state that flies off the handle at a moments notice. Instead the director Tinge Krishnan chooses to create a distance between the character of Frank and everybody else, in terms of the acting, the cropped framing, the use of negative space, and specific points of focus, which works really effectively.

Within Junkhearts we are also introduced to newcomer Candese Reid, who was found at Nottingham's Television Workshop - famous for Paddy Considine and the This Is England cast. Her character Lynette works her way under Frank's emotional barrier, fully realised in a spine-tingling scene where Frank cracks his first smile we've seen, bathed in gorgeous sun light.

The performances of Frank and Lynette felt truthful and authentic and I felt sympathetic to each character and that's a testament to the director. Furthermore, the execution of the script really engaged me throughout.

It was incredibly shot by Catherine Derry, I loved the self-defence/dance scene seeped in sunflare, the lovely bokeh in the bar scene with Shaun Dooley and Romola Garai, the bleak scenes in and around the tower block and lifts, the uncomfortable framing with Eddie when he's having flashbacks, the lovely slow-motion when he dances, and I loved the practical lighting, and the strip lighting inside the flat.

If you like the work of Lynne Ramsay, Andrea Arnold, Mike Leigh, and Shane Meadows, Junkhearts could be right up your street.
One to watch in 2012.

Junkhearts is a really beautiful, moving film - I caught it at LFF and was really impressed by the quality of the filmmaking and cast. Its so rare to see established actors like Romola Garai and Eddie Marsan tackle challenging roles (I'm thinking in comparison to War Horse which I saw the other day...).

Yes, its not the easiest subject matter but in that way its very similar to Fish Tank - the same care has been taken in production, and it is a heartfelt, sometimes heartbreaking film.

I couldn't recommend Junkhearts highly enough - if you only choose one film to see in 2012 I implore you to make it this one. I went to a showing of Junkhearts at The Renoir not sure quite what to expect, feeling compelled to go with a friend who had seen it advertised at the London Film Festival. I would have been satisfied simply to have been able to say I'd seen it if I'm honest. Instead I found myself completely lost in the lives of Frank and Lynette - an army veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and a homeless girl from Nottingham. The story that unfolds seems bleak from the outset but it completely took my breath away. Sure it's not for the fainthearted, but it's also funny, moving and showcases a script full of wonders I couldn't have hoped to expect.