Away

North western England, young Ria (Temple) runs away from an abusive man with his stash of cocaine. She hides out in Blackpool hoping to find a way to sell the stash so she and her best friend can get on with their lives away from drugs and abuse. There she meets Joseph (Spall), a run down older man who has only thoughts of killing himself because of something in his recent past. The two bond, they somehow feel safe with one another. Inevitably the abuser Dex (Ryan) finds out where she is and it comes to a showdown on the shores of Blackpool.

This was a good story, not fully original but everyone who makes one of these puts their own spin on it. I hadn't heard of any of the actors but not surprising as it is a British film and that certainly didn't stop me from watching it. The film moved along a bit slow at first and I kept getting a bit confused with all the flashbacks that were happening and there were a lot of them. Closer to the end the flashbacks started making sense.

No CGI here, wasn't needed and if there were I certainly couldn't see it. It was just a story about drugs and abuse and two opposites who form an unlikely friendship. It was enjoyable and emotional, I likely won't see it twice but I'm not sorry I watched it.

A brilliant film which i saw at the Edinburgh Festival., The chemistry between Juno and Timothy was fascinating and well thought out. There was a touch of humor, great music which added a lot to the film and sadness as well. The flashbacks to how the 2 main characters arrived in Blackpool was gripping. Blackpool was an ideal location for this film because it is usually a place where you can have fun and and seen as the Vegas of the UK. The idea to have an older man and a young woman as the main characters was terrific and really paid off.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes films with a difference.I truly hope Away is great success and wish it the best of luck in the future.

Life is anything but fun in Blackpool,"the Vegas of the North", for the wildly different leading characters in this roller-coaster story of unlikely friendship. Seedy, middle-aged Joseph (Timothy Spall) and tarty teenage Ria (Juno Temple) are both in pain, seeking escape amongst the neon lights and seagulls. His unwilling response to her emotional need turns into recognition that he likes her and that their conditions are similar, leading to a shocking, very moving climax. Spall's curmudgeon is a bit overdone and unintelligible at times; Temple is convincing as the hard-shelled victim of 21st century drug culture, and their interplay is delightful to watch. This is a poignant, entertaining drama reminiscent of classic British films such as "Poor Cow" and "Up the Junction" but with a modern edge. Terrific music too!

Hi, saw this film at Edinburgh film festival and it knocked my socks off. I cried and laughed. Juno Temple and Tim Spall are amazing in it, those eyes staring down from the big screen (Juno's!) and Spall is very convincing in his wretched situation. Great story and how it's told is really clever as it's not straight forward like you might get with a Hollywood Blockbuster: You get fed elements of the story as small morsels along the way to always keep you enthralled. The scenery also makes me want to go to Blackpool too so a good advert there for them! A man in the audience commented on how he always cries at the drop of a hat at films but he knows it must be powerful as his wife who never ever cries at films was crying buckets.

Engrossingly downbeat melodrama about two disparate, down-on-their-luck characters who meet far from cutely in a dour bar in a no less moribund, off-season, brine-lashed Blackpool. While frequently grim, depressing, and emotionally raw, 'Away' never feels oppressively maudlin of self-consciously negative, since it is hard not to sympathize with the downwardly spiralling protagonist's desperate predicament, especially when they are given so much heart-wrenching humanity by gifted actors Juno Temple & Timothy Spall. This unflinchingly terse tableau of two profoundly damaged, doomily displaced souls cruelly ravaged by the arbitrary tempests of a hard-knock life ultimately proved to be a surprisingly edifying experience, and while the cinematically sweet conclusion my initially seem overly sentimental, it is, perhaps, wholly deserved. Fans of earnestly existential UK indie-dramas set within the darker interstices of everyday life should seek out talented film-maker David Blair's melancholy, darkly sardonic feature.