The Low Down review

certificate_15

THE LOW DOWN

Finally. After what seems like a never-ending rut of lame British gangster thrillers and failed romantic comedies we have a wonderfully fresh and utterly charming laidback English film which has at its core the simple fact of growing up, having a relationship and relaxing with friends. Writer/director Jamie Thraves has clearly spent many a darkened hour watching French New Wave movies and his transposition of the ideas and themes he picked up into a London setting makes for one of the year's most enjoyable cinematic experiences. There are nods to the great French cineastes such as Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette and Francois Truffaut but this is no carbon copy : this bright new talent has created something wholly original with this tale of mooching about, hanging out and dropping in on friends in North London.

The Low Down doesn't have much of a plot. Frank (Aiden Gillen, familiar from television's Queer as Folk) is a twentysomething who works as a propmaker in his friend's studio, servicing the largely ludicrous needs of the television industry. He has a pretty easygoing life, sharing a dishevelled flat, chilling with his buddies and generally taking things as they come. He doesn't have a girlfriend at the start of the film, but soon meets Ruby (Kate Ashfield), a young estate agent who has an equally casual attitude to life. In order to spend more time with her he pretends he is interested in buying a house and so they visit a number of properties together. Soon, like Belmondo and Seberg in A Bout De Souffle, they are walking in the park, having a coffee and eventually going to bed together. Meanwhile, one of Frank's friends in the studio has had enough of making plastic props, a room in his flat becomes vacant and he has to find a new tenant, and he spends even more time celebrating birthdays or simply going for a drink with his group.

That's basically it. Nothing life shattering, no special effects, no unbelievable gangsters. Just a lot of talking about the mundane things that happen in everyday life. The real skill, however, lies in Thraves' ability to make this seem fascinating. His camera acts as another person in each scene, and the dialogue seems often improvised and very real. His excellent cast also contribute significantly: Gillen conveys a real ease on the big screen and alongside Kate Ashfield makes for one half of a relaxed, natural and attractive couple.