#27

London to Brighton







Director: Paul Andrew Williams

Cast: Lorraine Stanley ("Kelly"), Johnny Harris ("Dereck"), Georgia Groome ("Joanne"), Sam Spruell ("Stuart Allen")

Review: Kelly and Joanne are on the run. Kelly has a bruised eye and Joanne is crying. Joanne is 12. They're running away from Dereck, Kelly's pimp. He needed a young girl for one of his clients and so Kelly took Joanne off the street and convinced her to go "play" with an older man for 100 quid. They get on a train to Brighton to hide from Dereck. When Kelly works the streets of Brighton to get money for another train, Dereck gets a visits from Stuart Allen. He seems to be very angry and wants Dereck to find Kelly and Joanne. Dereck finds them eventually and once he is in Brighton he takes them hostage and waits for further instructions.

I bought "London to Brighton", because I wanted to get to know the contemporary British film. Apart from the Spanish and sometimes the French film, the British film is supposed to be the best in Europe.
"London to Brighton" emphasises this propostion. I didn't really know what to expect, so I just went for it. Director Paul Andrew Williams first feature is surprisingly good, but also shoking. The way prostitution and paedophilia is shown here is remarkably realistic which is the reason for the viewer's shock.
Joanne, a 12-year-old, smokes, claims to have had sex before, lives on the street and tries to be tough, even though you quickly find out that she still is a 12-year-old girl.
Kelly doesn't seem to know anything except prostitution, although she is quite a good soul.
Derek seems to be a living cliché: He is brutal, he swears constantly and doesn't care for anybody than himself.
Stuart Allen is the mysterious character in this drama. He reminds me a little of Tony Soprano, only being active when it is absolutely necessary. He is a cold man with no visual emotions.
The pictures of the movie are strong and also disturbing and therefore Paul Andrew Williams deserves the credit he got from the critics in Britain.
"London to Brighton" is a quiet yet strong movie with good actors and a more than solidly told story and a surprising twist at the end.

7.7 out of 10 grown-up acting runaway girls