If you are bored of being spoon fed Hollywood tripe then this film is for you. Whilst it's a far cry from the glossiness you would find in a big budget movie, if you can get past the first couple of scenes which contain a few colour and sound misdemeanours (and these are minor and short lived) then for a low budget movie this film hits the mark on every level that actually matters.
Writer and director Luke Oliver has a clear agenda with this film - but the message that "every dog should have his day" is honourable and moral. It's delivered with a great balance of humour and reality and certainly packs a punch by the end!
The cast are solid. The acting is consistently good from the entire cast which is almost unheard of in my opinion.
There are a couple of familiar faces. George Newton (from This is England) plays Billy - the unreasonable boss (we've all had one!). The casting is perfect and Newton plays him to a tee and whilst his character is a bit scary - you can't help but love him for it. Alex Reid (Former husband to Katie Price) plays a brief cameo which provides comedic relief and proves that Reid has a sense of humour and can make light of some of the negative press he's received which is credit to him.
The performances I enjoyed the most were that of Darrell Imbert who plays Sheridan - he's a big bad charity boss without an ounce of compassion. Some of his lines are brazen to say the least and are very close to the knuckle which is a huge risk considering the relevance to current media coverage of charities. Imbert is a natural on camera and reminds me of a serious version Dr Evil from Austin Powers. He's charismatic and believable and his scene in the restaurant with Matt who is played by Steve Mace is quite frankly brilliant. The pair bounce off each other very well and the acting on both parts is exceptional.
Another brilliant performance comes from Mark Peachey who plays Dick Mann - I think he's supposed to be like a slight less hairy version of Simon Cowell. Peachey shows he can have fun playing a bad guy, some of his moments are slapstick by nature - and some things you can't un-see - but what comes through Peachey's performance is the message that these people at the top really are disgusting - and that is a credit to his ability as an actor.
Richard Vitola-Jones plays another unreasonable boss but with more of a story behind him. His performance of self written song "Up Against It" not only delivers a message and provides a sobering moment - but his performance is captivating.
All in all this film is brilliant. As an unknown actor himself and in his debut as director Luke Oliver really does show us what he's made of. What I love is that not only is he talented and confident but he's brave. Through 'Art is Dead' he's put himself forward and said what he really thinks. He takes the viewer on a journey and makes us see the world through his eyes. He should be applauded and he should be proud.
I would love to see more films like this. Thank you for opening my eyes and for inspiring me not only to write my first review but to follow my own path.
