LOOTED | FILM REVIEW
Dir: Rene van Pannevis (15, 90 mins)
A grim well-acted snapshot of a life in flux, writer/director van Pannevis’ drama is a character study of a young man struggling to care for his father and deal with a life of petty crime. Dunkirk’s Charley Palmer Rothwell plays Rob, a car obsessive happy to steal vehicles with his mates, whilst also attempting to be a good son and care for his terminally ill father played by Tom Fisher. Thomas Turgoose is great as Rob’s supposed best friend – ultimately out for himself, trapped in a society he feels owes him something and unable to take personal responsibility.
He embroils Rob into something more than occasional twocking – stealing a car packed with drugs, which will have bigger ramifications than their joyriding, chop shop-providing hijinks. Part of the car is Polish immigrant Kasia (Morgane Polanski) who forms a subtle and touching bond with Rob’s father. Rob and his dad can’t talk to each other properly, trapped in a prison of illness, recrimination, responsibility and self-hatred.
Throughout, there is wonderful cinematography of a dying docklands town with nothing to offer for its young protagonists – having to do something to fend off boredom and lack of work, indulging in spliffs, helium inhalation and the adrenaline highs of thievery. The relationship between father and son isn’t sugar-coated: despite a sentimental resolution via the use of a cassette recorder, it also shows the daily grind of a carer, cleaning up excrement and feeding someone else when you can barely feed yourself properly. This balancing act between duty and youthfulness is one of Looted’s strongpoints. Authenticity is apparent, however, in this semi-autobiographical tale expanded from the director’s short film Jacked. There is a little meandering in the film’s first half and some improvisatory moments and dialogue that feel forced, but it remains an engaging, small drama, given a cinematic sheen and with detailed, nuanced performances. Another entry in the lowkey British gritty drama genre.
Released on all major VOD platforms on Fri 6 Nov, and UK cinemas when permitted to reopen
words KEIRON SELF