A complicated and uneven weave of almost unrelated scenes makes this story of boyhood friendship difficult to enjoy.
The film is owned by Will Poulter, the talented terror of his school. Without him, this would have been unwatchable. How talented is he? Well, almost at the end of the film we see him as he acts being an actor in his own home-made film. That few seconds of genius sealed the deal for me.
Other actors do their bit and for viewers of a certain age (like me) it was great fun to see Eric Sykes turn in a cameo as a hapless patient in an old people's home. Yeah, Google the name, kids... he was once 'the' face of good-natured family entertainment on British television in a bygone era.
The school common room scene is worth rewinding for, but unfortunately, much of the film is forgettable as it twists and turns the viewer into too many directions at once. This has the effect of thinning the impact of what should have been the peripheral but important characters of the show.
It's only after the common room scene that the film slows down long enough for the message of the story to start to reveal itself. But by then we're an hour in and it's too late.
The whole daft side-angle of the French exchange students should have been abandoned in favour of time spent on the two boys, their developing friendship, their families and backgrounds.
In addition, the director and editors have forced us to guess what's happening as key events are glossed over during the fragmented, rapid-fire collage of scenes. Finally, the 'tie-ups' at the end are hurried, unrealistic and contrived.
There are dozens of adoring and excited reviews for this film here and mine will be buried at the back somewhere... but I can't help thinking that there's something a bit suspicious about many of them. You'd think that this was The Godfather or something!
C-. Must try harder!
The film is owned by Will Poulter, the talented terror of his school. Without him, this would have been unwatchable. How talented is he? Well, almost at the end of the film we see him as he acts being an actor in his own home-made film. That few seconds of genius sealed the deal for me.
Other actors do their bit and for viewers of a certain age (like me) it was great fun to see Eric Sykes turn in a cameo as a hapless patient in an old people's home. Yeah, Google the name, kids... he was once 'the' face of good-natured family entertainment on British television in a bygone era.
The school common room scene is worth rewinding for, but unfortunately, much of the film is forgettable as it twists and turns the viewer into too many directions at once. This has the effect of thinning the impact of what should have been the peripheral but important characters of the show.
It's only after the common room scene that the film slows down long enough for the message of the story to start to reveal itself. But by then we're an hour in and it's too late.
The whole daft side-angle of the French exchange students should have been abandoned in favour of time spent on the two boys, their developing friendship, their families and backgrounds.
In addition, the director and editors have forced us to guess what's happening as key events are glossed over during the fragmented, rapid-fire collage of scenes. Finally, the 'tie-ups' at the end are hurried, unrealistic and contrived.
There are dozens of adoring and excited reviews for this film here and mine will be buried at the back somewhere... but I can't help thinking that there's something a bit suspicious about many of them. You'd think that this was The Godfather or something!
C-. Must try harder!