In case you haven't yet seen this film you might want to know that this isn't exactly the type of summer romance that "The Notebook" is but that's okay because this is a film that's more about finding the truth than finding a soul mate. Story takes place in a small town in West Yorkshire where we see teenage Mona (Nathalie Press) who rides around town on her moped and is secretly dating a married man but what she really wants is to get out of her community and live somewhere more exciting. Her brother Phil (Paddy Considine) has a dark past and has been in jail but now he has found Jesus and the pub that he and Mona have inherited from their parents is now being used for the religious group that he prays with.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** One day Mona meets Tamsin (Emily Blunt) who is a rich girl home from school and staying with her parents but they both leave on trips leaving Mona alone. Mona and Tamsin are both bored in the town and naturally start spending every moment together until they end up in a sexual relationship and declaring their love for one another. Tamsin tells her about the death of her sister from bulimia and how she's never really gotten over it and she seems curious about Mona's relationship with her brother. The two of them talk about leaving and going to a big city to live together but Phil tells her to stay away from Tamsin and locks her in her bedroom which tests his faith especially the way she mocks his new found religious ways. After Mona is allowed to leave she finds out a very cruel secret about Tamsin and her sister that ruins every plan she had about getting away not only from the town but from Phil as well.
This is only the second feature film from director and writer Paul Pavlikovsky and while this effort is a bit rough around the edges (especially the cinematography) the film benefits from a script that allows the characters to show real human flaws. Although the film is extremely low budget the actors are more than up to task and lately Considine has been giving consistently good and interesting performances. Blunt with her nude scenes exudes an exciting sexuality that should insure other interesting roles coming her way but the film seemingly belongs to Press who's appearance reminds me of both Toni Collette and Bryce Howard. Press demonstrates that she's more than capable of playing lead roles in films and her performance here is solid as she shows both strength and vulnerability. For me the most interesting thing in the story comes when Phil eventually rejects religion and kicks everyone out and I think the reason for this comes when he figures out that religion has changed him to the point that it ruins his relationship with his sister Mona. My feeling is that his actions earlier in the film were being done to try and gain his sisters acceptance and when this fails he has no other recourse but to revert back to his old self. Pavlikovsky's film doesn't really have any moral messages to it but it does exceed at being a very good character study and all three of these actors excel splendidly in their roles.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** One day Mona meets Tamsin (Emily Blunt) who is a rich girl home from school and staying with her parents but they both leave on trips leaving Mona alone. Mona and Tamsin are both bored in the town and naturally start spending every moment together until they end up in a sexual relationship and declaring their love for one another. Tamsin tells her about the death of her sister from bulimia and how she's never really gotten over it and she seems curious about Mona's relationship with her brother. The two of them talk about leaving and going to a big city to live together but Phil tells her to stay away from Tamsin and locks her in her bedroom which tests his faith especially the way she mocks his new found religious ways. After Mona is allowed to leave she finds out a very cruel secret about Tamsin and her sister that ruins every plan she had about getting away not only from the town but from Phil as well.
This is only the second feature film from director and writer Paul Pavlikovsky and while this effort is a bit rough around the edges (especially the cinematography) the film benefits from a script that allows the characters to show real human flaws. Although the film is extremely low budget the actors are more than up to task and lately Considine has been giving consistently good and interesting performances. Blunt with her nude scenes exudes an exciting sexuality that should insure other interesting roles coming her way but the film seemingly belongs to Press who's appearance reminds me of both Toni Collette and Bryce Howard. Press demonstrates that she's more than capable of playing lead roles in films and her performance here is solid as she shows both strength and vulnerability. For me the most interesting thing in the story comes when Phil eventually rejects religion and kicks everyone out and I think the reason for this comes when he figures out that religion has changed him to the point that it ruins his relationship with his sister Mona. My feeling is that his actions earlier in the film were being done to try and gain his sisters acceptance and when this fails he has no other recourse but to revert back to his old self. Pavlikovsky's film doesn't really have any moral messages to it but it does exceed at being a very good character study and all three of these actors excel splendidly in their roles.