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Amazon.co.uk Review
The territory explored by Jamie Thraves in his feature film debut The Low Down is hardly new: late-20-something faces crisis over settling down/growing up/moving on. But it's the laid-back, improvisational way he deals with the subject that makes it compelling. Frank (Aidan Gillen, in altogether more introspective mode than Queer as Folk) is beginning to realise he's outgrown the bohemian fantasy of his art-student days, tiring of the squalor of his surroundings, the drug dealers next door. It's only with the appearance of the more optimistic Ruby (Kate Ashfield), whom he meets when she shows him round various flats, that he actually gets the impetus to change his life. The tentativeness with which Frank and Ruby get together, hovering between insecurity and desire, is acutely observed, while his relationships with friends and fellow workers (he's a TV prop designer, which makes for some good visual gags), by turns laconic, pissed-off and hilarious, are disconcertingly true to life.
Gillen and Ashfield are terrific, but so are the supporting cast--particularly Dean Lennox Kelly and Tobias Menzies as friends Mike and John. The Low Down is a thoroughly absorbing film, its emotional edginess highlighted by the hand-held camera and by the freeze-framing to distort time. The effect is quirky and inviting rather than annoyingly arty, and Thraves is clearly one to watch.
On the DVD: The Low Down on disc has a featurette with just under eight minutes of excerpts. There's a commentary on the film, plus a brief sample of fly-on-the-wall footage in "On Location". Don't get overexcited about the promise of Cast and Crew Interviews, though, since they are very soundbitey and not very profound (for example, Jamie Thraves on making his first feature film: "I've felt more relaxed than I've ever done"). And of course there's the usual theatrical trailer. --Harriet Smith
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Featurette, Interactive Menu, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Music video director Jamie Thraves made his feature debut with this cinema verite look at a group of bohemian Londoners straddling the line between apathy and ambition. Aidan Gillen (of the popular British TV series Queer As Folk) plays Frank, a prop artist who spends his free time chain-smoking, drinking, pontificating, and chain-smoking some more. He's at a crossroads, however: Unable to tolerate his loud, drug-dealing neighbors, he considers buying a flat of his own. At the realtors, he meets the fetching Ruby (Kate Ashfield), who shows him a variety of dismal real estate opportunities, barely veiling her contempt for the offerings. Charmed, Frank begins to go out with Kate, and as their relationship heats up, Frank notices changes in his group of laterally mobile friends. Mike (Dean Lennox Kelly) begins to take on more responsibility, both at the prop shop and in his personal life, as he proposes marriage to his longtime girlfriend -- putting him at odds with the more lackadaisical John (Tobias Menzies), a chronically tardy co-worker who's beginning to reconsider his career track. Frank finds himself mediating between the two, and unable to make any definitive choices in his own life. The Low Down made its North American Premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival.
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: British Independent Film Awards, Stockholm Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, ...The Low Down
SCREENED/AWARDED AT: British Independent Film Awards, Stockholm Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, ...The Low Down
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
OK, cards on the table time. You're either going to love this desperately, feel protective towards it, and sing its praises with evangelical zeal at every opportunity, or be profoundly unmoved.
The difference, I suspect, is one of identification with the characters' semi-slacker existence and the nuances of twentysomething friendships.
Aidan Gillen, best known as Stuart from Queer As Folk, stars as Frank, a props maker approaching a crossroads in his life. He has all but outgrown his student-flavoured life with its squalid accommodation, juvenile jokes, and dysfunctional mates but has yet to admit the fact to himself.
Director Jamie Thraves opts for a naturalistic, new wave style, and the dialogue is largely improvised. Thanks to his universally excellent young cast, the gamble pays off handsomely.
There is precious little in the way of plot but, then again, The Low Down isn't about the telling of a story - it's a wonderfully observed, achingly bittersweet requiem for young adulthood.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Rarely does a film generate a feeling for me of actually being involved in it's setting as it plays. The camera shots almost emulate the same infrastructural things my eyes would normally gaze or stare at as I go about my outdoor life. The characters are also all people I've virtually met before.
It's just real man, and to capture that on film well is just beautiful. The feeling of being a fly on the wall of these familiar conversations or awkward situations that you know you've been in before is just so erm... 'interesting'!!
The best thing about owning this product, is re-watching it. The convenience of experiencing the story by simply re-watching a plastic DVD, is one of the reasons I love life. I think as time passes I will enjoy it even more and nostalgia will deepen for the symbolic takes of environment it presents in 2000.
This isn't a movie, it's film and should be appreciated as an art piece to be experienced like Janet Cardiff's work for instance. I think you'll get the most from this if you have ever been a student in London. The Low Down [DVD] [2000]
It's just real man, and to capture that on film well is just beautiful. The feeling of being a fly on the wall of these familiar conversations or awkward situations that you know you've been in before is just so erm... 'interesting'!!
The best thing about owning this product, is re-watching it. The convenience of experiencing the story by simply re-watching a plastic DVD, is one of the reasons I love life. I think as time passes I will enjoy it even more and nostalgia will deepen for the symbolic takes of environment it presents in 2000.
This isn't a movie, it's film and should be appreciated as an art piece to be experienced like Janet Cardiff's work for instance. I think you'll get the most from this if you have ever been a student in London. The Low Down [DVD] [2000]
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
After I read the other reviews of this film that passionately defended it, I thought I'd bagged a gem. Perhaps it's because I watched 'Persona' several days before, but this film made no great shakes. Yes, I've been there and met the people. I've seen 'that' life and I got that the eye-level camera work described character dis-interestedness or an act of looking etc. The problem is the characters are dull and I never believed their friendships or relationships. I just sat back watching something puzzling being played out waiting for something to make me care either way. Trying to put my finger on it, I think their lack of anything to say for themselves, to connect with each other or themselves really blows the engagement of the audience. People are not as dull and are more colourful than this. Still, it's not all awful - the impression of their lives in London rings true even if the outlines haven't been filled in. Perhaps that was the deal - to not allow the fiction to overwhelm the experience you bring to it. Unfortunately, it means you are underwhelmed by what it has to bring to you.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Magical
There are some films that disprove the theory about plot being integral; Withnail and I, Lost in Translation, Waking Life to name but a few, and The Low Down is another great... Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2007 by Billy
a realistic and interesting slice of young life
This is for me a film that is honest, genuine in that it has been created rather that just put together, and interesting in the development of the story. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2006 by Dr. C. D. Connaughton
Boring & Pointless!!!
After having read the reviews of this, i rented it from amazon. I was looking forward to watching a good british film. Read more
Published on 6 Jun 2006 by book worm
realistic poignant mediation on young adult life
This is a suprisingly affecting, and understatedly powerful portrayal of growing up. Its a about the need for answers, finding our way and some role in life, as we begin to explore... Read more
Published on 3 Oct 2003 by South West shooter
Must be seen
Excellent film a must for any aidan gillen fan.
Published on 14 May 2001
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