Sweetheart

When I was in my late teen's, Bill Forsyth's "Gregory's Girl" perfectly epitomised the angst of the school years' emotions I'd left behind me. And I was very much heterosexual. With "Sweetheart", Marley Morrison in an astonishing feature debut delivers a "Gregory's Girl" for today's much more sexually fluid times.

Positives:

• What a great ensemble cast! It's all headed up by Nell Barlow, amazingly in her feature debut. Nell manages to perfectly deliver the hair-pullingly frustrating unpredictability of a teenage girl: always planning to go off doing something worthy like "knitting jumpers for elephants in Indonesia". But she manages to keep the portrayal just the right side of parody, not straying into 'Kevin and Perry' territory. "What's wrong with you?" asks her mother. "I'm 17. Everything's wrong with me" she replies. It's an immaculate performance for someone so young.

• Jo Hartley is also fabulous as A. J.'s mum, a lost soul struggling with her own worries, without having those of AJ to add to them. It's not portrayed as a typical 'Mum v Teen' battle, but beautifully nuanced. "Just because you're a lesbian now, it doesn't mean you have to dress like a boy" she pleads with A. J.
• If you're trying to place her, Ella Rae-Smith was the striking girl in the baseball cap in Netflix's "The Stranger". She is also wonderful here, as the 'hot girl' who you think has it all but is underneath deeply troubled and conflicted. A sex scene (beautifully lit and filmed - by either Emily Almond Barr or Matthew Wicks - manages to show absolutely nothing but is deliciously erotic as a result.

• The writing by Marley Morrison feels very autobiographical. And, as I found through reading this Guardian article about Morrison's gender-journey, there is a lot of personal experience in here. It's clever that the film is claustrophobically set in the remote holiday park (actually the real Freshwater Beach Holiday Park near Bridport on the Dorset coast). If it had been set in a big city like London, AJ could have constantly fled from her feelings, never resolving them. Here, she is constantly running into Isla.... there is no escape.

• I also very much liked the relationship written between A. J. and Steve. Steve is almost the safety valve on the pressure cooker, always helpfully allowing some steam to escape. It adds warmth to the story.

• For such an indie picture, there's a range of great tunes on the soundtrack: mostly from bands I have never heard of (probably making it affordable). I'm not sure if there's to be a soundtrack album released, but it's worth a listen if so.

Negatives:

• I wasn't fond of the sound mix on the film. Some of the dialogue was indistinct.

• A. J. gives us an occasional running commentary of her thoughts as a voiceover. Regular readers of my blog will know my thoughts on this subject! I'm not sure if it added much to the story: a 'show-not-tell' approach would have been my preference.

Summary Thoughts on "Sweetheart": I likened this film to 1980's "Gregory's Girl", and that's a great compliment. That movie made stars out of John Gordon Sinclair and Clare Grogan. I'd predict similar great things for Nell Barlow, Ella Rae-Smith and particularly for writer/director Marley Morrison. I'll very much look forward to Marley's future projects. It's a cracking little British film. It deserves a major cinema release, but I suspect this is one that you might need to hunt out at your less mainstream cinemas. But please do so - it's well worth it. Very much recommended.

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Marley Morrison's gem of a debut film Sweetheart, is that type of film sadly probably end up near the bottom of most streaming sites and probably go out of print on DVD or Blu-Ray over the next few years. Which is a damn shame cause it's a great coming of age film set on hoilday beach resorts in the UK.

It's not a film with the usual British character actors or has a major budget (to be fair, besides maybe durng the 80's disco scene near the end with it's soundtrack. You rarely feel the low budget). Even the cast is really only 10 people and three of them are only seen here and there.

The film is pretty much carried by. Nell Barlow as AJ (she won a award or two in the UK for her performance, well deserved too). In a lesser actress hands, AJ could be really dislikeable. But Barlow makes you care for AJ. She's definitely someone to keep a eye out for in the future.

Also the underused and always great Jo Hartley as AJ's mum almost steals the film from Barlow and is given a few nice scenes at the end. Sophia Di Martino as AJ's sister is probably the most well known to many for her role in Loki. But she's great. As is Samuel Anderson as AJ's brother in law and little. Tabitha Bryon as AJ's younger sister.

I also like AJ's love interest Isla (played nicely by. Ella-Rae Smith). The romance gets plenty of film's running time. And nice mix of romance and drama between them. Smith and Barlow have great chemistry. The film has the usual parent and misunderstood teen drama you expect from films like this. But it's done really well. Aslo it's nice that AJ's sexuality isn't a major point of the film, she's already out to her family before the film even begins.

The ending is a nice bittersweet one. I think the right ending to go with for this film.

I have to keep my eye out for Marley Morrison and Nell Barlow for the future. A shame the film didn't find a big audience as it was released mid way through the pandemic (it's only got 746 votes on IMDB). It's not a lost classic or anything but it's a better film then it's 6.6 rating on here.

To hate all and everyone, due to the hormonal developments in a young british teenagers body, growing up in a society where sexual norms has smoldered into pieces and the choice of the 2 standard gender has become multible genders, that makes a bewildered and confused young lass become a danger to society and family, and the psychosocial stand to take becomes the toughest task to make in your lifetime.

Even though sad and serious, it has a bright side too, of warmth and giggelish british humour, with some archbritish holiday/caravan park amusement, and a dressing code and make up taste that only the brits can do.

The grumpy old man and ditto wife that agrees that we are glad that ''we have had the time of our life'', had a good laugh at times, its not a perfect match, but made to make you feel and emphasize. A 7 for this lot.

This was such a great film. The type of film that evokes almost the full spectrum of emotions! I laughed, felt frustration, annoyance, sadness and mu heart glowed a lot by the end! Serious subjects and issues confronted but in an accessible and very relatable way.

At the beginning what seem to be fairly obvious and stereotypical (even comical?) characters, soon become complex and deeply developed people with who most people could find reflections of themselves. I thought the performances were excellent. Most significantly by Nell Barlow, Ella-Rae Smith and the sometimes overlooked Jo Hartley, who I wish we saw more of. I hope after this film she is considered for lead parts in prime time dramas.

A British set film.

A gentle coming of age film, that anyone who remembers their teenage years will identify with.

Experiencing those awkward times when you are still finding out who you are.

When no-one understands you, not even your family, even though they have your best interests at heart.

Beautifully portrayed by a convincing cast, set in a picturesque if typically British holiday camp location.

Captures all the gentle angst of family holidays with different generations convinced they know what everyone else needs to do to enjoy themselves.

Add in romance and what's not to like.

Definitely recommend it 👌