Shadows on the Wall

Urchin

Review by Rich Cline | MUST SEE

dir-scr Harris Dickinson
prd Archie Pearch, Scott O'Donnell
with Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Amr Waked, Harris Dickinson, Buckso Dhillon-Woolley, Shonagh Marie, Karyna Khymchuk, Okezie Morro, Moe Hashim, Diane Axford, Oriana White, Natasha Jean Sparkes
release UK 3.Oct.25,
US 10.Oct.25
25/UK BBC 1h39

CANNES FILM FEST

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While Harris Dickinson's debut project as writer-director has clear echoes of social realist filmmakers like Ken Loach, it also reveals a wonderfully original voice all his own. This drama's grounded storytelling bristles with sparky humour, while Dickinson also stirs in metaphorical undercurrents that are hauntingly surreal. It also features an unusually textured performance from Frank Dillane as a likeable young man struggling to get his life moving forward.

Living on East London streets, Mike (Dillane) is furious that his friend Nathan (Dickinson) has stolen his wallet. Nice guy Simon (Morro) calms the situation, then offers to buy Mike lunch. But Mike robs him instead. Months later, after a stint in prison, Mike has cleaned himself up, and care worker Nadia (Dhillon-Woolley) helps him find work and housing in a hostel. But Mike struggles to hold down a job, and a budding romance with Andrea (Northam) leads him to relapse with drugs and alcohol. The question is whether he can ever escape this cycle.

Skilfully shot by cinematographer Josee Deshaies, the film has a fly-on-the-wall feel to it, with improv-style dialog that makes scenes bracingly realistic. Edgy comedy continually reveals deeper aspects of Mike's personality, as do signs of a deeper yearning to make something better of himself. Then the camera seems to dive right into his soul, expressed as a mossy cave or gleaming monastery. These fantastical sequences feel a little jarring, but they also augment the film's unusually astute but understated approach.

At the centre, Dillane gives an often astonishingly nuanced, full-bodied performance, radiating intelligence and charm. Like people he meets along the way, we can't help but root for him to make his life better, and we cheer for his every triumph. Dillane conveys Mike's joy and despair with almost unnerving subtlety. And everyone on-screen has the same authentic complexity, a mixture of hope and fear that each person deals with in their own way.

Connections are powerfully vivid throughout this story. Mike's ongoing interaction with Andrea, Nadia, Nathan and others is layered and punchy, with moments of exuberance that include a heart-felt karaoke rendition of Atomic Kitten's Whole Again and a loose-limbed dance to the Desireless classic Voyage, Voyage. But there are darker aspects of this story that become haunting, making a thoughtful but gently pointed comment on how the UK government has failed to keep people from needing a safety net that might not be there when it should be.

themes, language, violence, sexuality 17.Sep.25

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