True Things

This film probably won't change the world. It doesn't contain life-altering wisdom or beautiful moments of insight. It is a very restrained, very subtle piece, essentially a two-handed stage play, with a pair of talented actors delivering understated performances.

This is a double-edged sword. The down-to-earth realism means that the story drifts quietly along, as do the characters, before just kind of ending. This allows for some real moments of introspection, pause, and stillness (true things, one might say), but unfortunately it does leave a slightly pedestrian and forgettable impression. But maybe that isn't a bad thing for these types of films? I'd be interested to come back in a few years and see whether the impression has changed at all.

Ever been in a relationship that felt more like an intoxicating addiction? That's the situation for Katie, a down on her luck benefits worker in a UK seaside town.

Ruth Wilson is fantastic as Katie. Every movement and smile conveys the desperate neediness of someone lacking self love and connection. Tom Burke is a solid love rat, and their chemistry bubbles throughout the film.

There are some nice handheld shots, but nothing too ambitious. Worth watching, nothing to write home about.

Ruth Wilson plays an isolated single woman with low self-esteem who hooks up with a 'bad boy' and that's the whole story. It plays out in slow, miserable, unsurprising ways. Plot development? Never heard of it. This a deeply uninteresting look at boring characters going nowhere. Think Mike Leigh, but without composition, character or compassion.

The trouble is, Ruth Wilson is a good actress and manages to make this dishwater script seem more engaging than it really is, so well done Ruth. Tom Burke is fine, but his character suffers the same problem - he's bland, badly written (if written at all) and has all the complexity of a child's stick drawing.

It's self-indulgent, patience-testing guff which leaves its actors to do all the work but, ultimately, they don't have enough work to do.

A sudden fling can become the only window to a better future when people are trapped by life. I saw this in the story but avobe all in Ruth Wilson's performance: she is truth itself.

There are few films i will watch till the end, i give at least 20 minutes and if it is not absorbing me by then, off it goes and on to the next. It is not outstanding at all, it's general theme or feel is slightly disturbed, like the main character, but i was certainly intrigued to find where it would evolve to. In the end it was a little quirky, if not "deserved" ending, which did not really bring closure to the main characters "position", or State.

However, i say again i was interested enough to know what may become of the main character, played by Ruth Wilson, whom i have not seen nor heard of before, but i think she is fantastic. I was inspired to write this review because of a rather bad one i saw, due to how good i KNOW she is. There are no sparks etc coming from this rather unusual film & it does have a somewhat "Depressed" feel to it, due to the main characters overall state, so not to everyone's taste, but it is certainly no less than a 5, & i give it a solid 6 for Ruth Wilson's ability alone, which inspired concern/care for her, along with being intrigued with what would ultimately become of her, and not any actor can do that. So yes, it's a sort of downbeat study of an unhappy, unloved young woman, but certainly well acted, which puts it well above much of what appears these days masquerading as "Movies". This IS at least a well acted Movie, downbeat, yes, not to everyone's taste, but a Real movie none the less. Hope to see more of her in future, certainly she deserves such, which no doubt film MAKERS will realize after seeing her here.