Junkhearts

Junkhearts is a gritty film set in London that starts promisingly but gets derailed due to poor execution and a muddled and derivative screenplay.

Frank (Eddie Marsan) is a reclusive ex-soldier, drunk and suffering from post traumatic stress as he is haunted by his past. He takes in a young homeless girl Lynette (Candese Reid) when she is having a spot of bother outside an off licence and she stays at his shabby flat.

At first they strike up a tentative friendship but then her boyfriend Danny turns up and also moves into the flat before long there is sex, drugs, alcohol and partying and Frank is like a prisoner in his own flat and it looks like Lynette has used him.

I just wanted Frank to knock Danny's lights out but what we get is a dreary melodrama which stems into a cliché ridden thinly plotted mess.

Quite well made on a low budget; I did like the use of visual effects though, focus, the use of close-ups and lighting mostly, but quite effective. The performances were all pretty good; I found Eddie Marsan quite believable as Frank and Tom Sturridge was suitably intimidating as Danny. Newcomer Candese Reid as pretty good as Lynette although I'd like to see more of her work before I make a judgement on this performance. Finally there's Romola Garai who plays Christine, another character, more of her in a moment, she was pretty good also.

An interesting film with two parallel story lines; one involving Frank and Lynette and the other involving a well-heeled woman called Christine. She is a single mother with a young daughter; she's seeing a married man and her mother is taken ill. The thing is we don't see anything more about Christine until quite near the end of the film. I found myself wondering just what was the point of showing us those little fragments of her and then nothing more for about and hour (or so it seemed). But back to Frank; I guess I was hoping for a film along the lines of the rather excellent 'Harry Brown', but sadly not to be. Although there are parallels, this one doesn't take the same course and (I felt) it suffered because of it. It does have some good points though but be prepared to be a tad disappointed by the end.

SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDED (Just)

My score: 6.0/10

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

A great film with original characters and distinct empathy for those we forget to care about.

refreshing and original performances from the cast with each drawing you into their respective perspectives and conflicts

The film progresses with expert subtlety and authenticity that affords the audience the opportunity to develop an opinion on the controversial and intimate aspects.

But it does not sugar coat or hold back; the plot development was artfully punctuated with a strategic deployment of the quietly powerful moments and the raw and charged

I'm loving these gems of contemporary British cinema

Junkhearts is directed by Tinge Krishnan and written by Simon Frank. It stars Eddie Marsan, Candese Reid, Tom Sturridge and Romola Garai. Story has Marsan as Frank, an alcoholic ex-soldier suffering nightmares over an incident that saw him shoot a young mother. Frank strikes up an unlikely friendship with Lynette (Reid), a homeless girl sleeping rough on the streets. Once barriers are broken down, Frank takes Lynette into his home to stay, but it's not long before Lynette's drug dealing boyfriend comes a calling...

For the most part Junkhearts is a very gritty slice of British miserablism. The pic is populated by addicts and wannabe gangsters, in a part of London built of dingy concrete council abodes, and where single promiscuous moms struggle to keep a grip on their lives.

Director Krishnan suffered herself from PTSD, so she was on hand to ensure the great Marsan could do the role justice, while there's a refreshing street believability about young Reid's performance. The camera work is intense and deliberately intruding, with the sound work being hypnotic to add bleaker tones to the characterisations.

The harshness and hurts of addiction rings true here, as does the key betrayal plot line and the breakdown of Frank. Unfortunately the parallel plot line featuring Romola Garai undermines the grit and grime surrounding Frank and Lynette's world, and it sadly serves only to give the pic a somewhat disappointing ending. Whilst the introduction of gun and knife crime appraisals don't strike the requisite powerful chords.

Yet even with its flaws this is still an intense film, with Marsan on top form and some other technical smarts on show, it's well worth a look by anyone interested in a slice of some moody British underbelly. 7/10

I couldn't recommend Junkhearts highly enough – if you only choose one film to see in 2012 I implore you to make it this one. I went to a showing of Junkhearts at The Renoir not sure quite what to expect, feeling compelled to go with a friend who had seen it advertised at the London Film Festival. I would have been satisfied simply to have been able to say I'd seen it if I'm honest. Instead I found myself completely lost in the lives of Frank and Lynette – an army veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and a homeless girl from Nottingham. The story that unfolds seems bleak from the outset but it completely took my breath away. Sure it's not for the fainthearted, but it's also funny, moving and showcases a script full of wonders I didn't expect.