A fine performance by an actor with Down’s syndrome drives this poignant British film about love and loss
A terrific central performance from Steven Brandon, a young man with Down’s syndrome, is the driving force of this heartfelt British independent picture. In a neat reversal of expected roles, Luke (Brandon) has become the care-giver for his prickly but loving mother. However, when she dies, the authorities ignore the fact that he can and does live independently and shunt him into a residential care home. A sequence in a car, in which the camera rests on Luke’s face as he mourns both his lost mother and lost independence, is achingly poignant and beautifully acted. The addition of the abrasive, discordant score is superfluous – everything the scene needs is in Brandon’s face.
Luke gradually opens up to Eve (Shana Swash), a pretty, perky care worker, and to troubled,...
A terrific central performance from Steven Brandon, a young man with Down’s syndrome, is the driving force of this heartfelt British independent picture. In a neat reversal of expected roles, Luke (Brandon) has become the care-giver for his prickly but loving mother. However, when she dies, the authorities ignore the fact that he can and does live independently and shunt him into a residential care home. A sequence in a car, in which the camera rests on Luke’s face as he mourns both his lost mother and lost independence, is achingly poignant and beautifully acted. The addition of the abrasive, discordant score is superfluous – everything the scene needs is in Brandon’s face.
Luke gradually opens up to Eve (Shana Swash), a pretty, perky care worker, and to troubled,...
- 11/6/2016
- by Wendy Ide
- The Guardian - Film News
This debut feature has a secret weapon in Steven Brandon, who gives a magnetic performance as a man with Down’s syndrome who is forced into a group home
Luke (Steven Brandon, a gifted performer and the film’s secret weapon) is a very competent young man with Down’s syndrome who singlehandedly cares for his elderly, bedridden mother (Eileen Pollock). But when she dies in her sleep, he’s forced by the authorities to move into a group home with other adults with complex needs, many of whom are much less able than himself. Bereaved, angry and lonely, Luke slips out against house rules to go on long walks, and discovers a mysterious feral girl (played by contortionist Pixie Le Knot, possibly not her real name). She’s been injured by a fox trap and he nurses her back to health in a barn. Meanwhile, Luke gradually grows closer...
Luke (Steven Brandon, a gifted performer and the film’s secret weapon) is a very competent young man with Down’s syndrome who singlehandedly cares for his elderly, bedridden mother (Eileen Pollock). But when she dies in her sleep, he’s forced by the authorities to move into a group home with other adults with complex needs, many of whom are much less able than himself. Bereaved, angry and lonely, Luke slips out against house rules to go on long walks, and discovers a mysterious feral girl (played by contortionist Pixie Le Knot, possibly not her real name). She’s been injured by a fox trap and he nurses her back to health in a barn. Meanwhile, Luke gradually grows closer...
- 11/3/2016
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
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