Helen (I) (2008)

Helen is a teenage girl who, when asked by the police to play the stand-in for a reconstruction, realizes it gives her a chance to confront her own troubled past.

Directors:

Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy

Writers:

Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy,

Stars:

Annie Townsend, Sandie Malia, Dennis Jobling

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annie Townsend	...	Helen
Sandie Malia	...	Mrs Thompson
Dennis Jobling	...	Mr Thompson
Sonia Saville	...	Police Officer Saville
Danny Groenland	...	Danny
Sheila Hamilton	...	Personal Advisor
Betty Ashe	...	Key worker
Gavin Huscroft	...	Drama teacher
Charlene James	...	Police officer
Keith Saha	...	Police officer
Marti Williams	...	Detective Williams
Maria Vishnjakova	...	Hotel chambermaid
Eddie Hardy	...	College lecturer
Paul Graham	...	Hotel manager
Middleton Anna	...	College student

Storyline

An 18 year old girl called Joy has gone missing. Another girl called Helen is a few weeks away from leaving her care home. Helen is asked to 'play' Joy in a police reconstruction that will retrace Joy's last known movements. Joy had everything. A loving family, a boyfriend, a bright future. Helen, parent-less, has lived in institutions all her life and has never been close to anyone. Gradually Helen begins to immerse herself into the role, visiting the people and places that Joy knew; quietly and carefully insinuating her way into the lost girl's life. But is Helen trying to find out what happened to Joy that day, or is she searching for her own identity?

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | character name in title

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Taglines:

Two girls are lost. One has disappeared, the other is trying to find herself.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France]

Country:

UK Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 2009 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Helen - Autopsie d'une disparition

Filming Locations:

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£293,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Desperate Optimists

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

a boring film in scope is still boring

The film-making team deserved ten points for having the right connexions to fund this film. Sadly have become so obsessed with shooting in scope they have forgotten any other element that might make the end product interesting. British critics love anything to do with identity. Make a film remotely along the lines of Hitchcock's Vertigo and they will fall over themselves praising it to heaven. Endless shots of tree leaves . A lead actress with the total on screen charisma of a potted plant. Antonioni used spacial dynamics to stunning effect long before this pair turned up. I thought I would go nuts if another shot arrived with a long slow dolly shot. But hey this is the sort of thing lottery funders and arts councils love to cultivate. Dull. Badly acted. It should have stayed as a short.