The directorial debut from former The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird is a funny and charming coming of age story that follows the dysfunctional relationship between a moody and nihilistic teenager and his depressed divorcee mother as they are forced to spend an entire summer together.
The film manages to capture perfectly the awkwardness of British adolescence and Earl Cave sells the pretentious and mopey teenager that is all too familiar to me. Monica Dolan was also great as Daniel's mum Sue and the use of Belle & Sebastian contrasted by heavy metal in the soundtrack was a great choice to mirror the inherent central conflict of the film.
It's a fairly standard and simplified story and the film lulls quite badly in the middle section, but it shows promise for the future career for Simon Bird. Maybe he was made to be behind the camera and not in front of it.
The film manages to capture perfectly the awkwardness of British adolescence and Earl Cave sells the pretentious and mopey teenager that is all too familiar to me. Monica Dolan was also great as Daniel's mum Sue and the use of Belle & Sebastian contrasted by heavy metal in the soundtrack was a great choice to mirror the inherent central conflict of the film.
It's a fairly standard and simplified story and the film lulls quite badly in the middle section, but it shows promise for the future career for Simon Bird. Maybe he was made to be behind the camera and not in front of it.