Dir. Lee Sales, UK , 2011, 97 mins
Cast: Ophelia Louibond, George Russo, Francis Pope,
Review by Roopesh Parekh
Lee Sales’s debut feature film Turnout is a disappointing, rather lengthy short film, which attempts to cover all the cliches one has come to expect from a gritty urban drama, with a pretty bland effect. Set in the dire East End of London, starring George Russo ( Priest, Dr Who ) and Orphelia Lovibond ( No Strings Attached, Mr Popper’s Penguins ), Turnout explores the troubled relationship between Sophie and George, a couple who in a last ditch attempt to save their relationship, plan to go on a luxury holiday.
Russo plays the jobless, hopeless and clueless George, who’s been entrusted with his girlfriend’s savings for the holiday. In order to make a quick buck and pay his share, he decides to “invest” Sophie’s money in a drug deal, which is predictably about to go wrong. As George’s freeloading friends start dipping into his drug supply, he’s left carrying the bill and the wheels start to come off his brilliantly dumb scheme very quickly. All of this results in his middle-class, VW beetle driving girlfriend Sophie re-evaluating her relationship with him; a relationship which is pretty difficult to believe in the first place given that he’s such a sap and she’s attempting to be a high flying professional.
The writers, Lee Sales and Francis Pope, have designed the characters so carelessly, it makes it hard to care whether or not they stay together. There is no sense of rooting for George to succeed in all his duckin’ and divin”, Sophie is constantly whinnying and within the first ten minutes you’re already bored. The rather short appearance of Plan B is the comic injection the film needs, though it’s safe to say that the writers weren’t going for a comedy effect. Neil Maskell stands out from the cast, for his strong performance, but is often sidelined within the film and you’re back to the whinnying Sophie and the boring George.
The cinematography is perhaps what saves it all and makes it bearable, with James Friend providing a slick, stylish look for the film and keeping things visually interesting. Sales’s does try to extract some good performances from his actors and for a debut feature film, it is ironic that what lets it down is his own script.
There is no point to this story, no real message, no entertainment. Turn off the film and let’s all move on.
You May Also Like.......
Dir. Steve McQueen, UK, 2011, 101 mins
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale
Review by Francesca Neagle
Brandon (Fassbender) is a thirty-something corporate drone living comfortably inNew York, balancing his busy ...
READ MORE
Dir. Niall McCormick, 2011 , UK , 90 mins
Cast: Jessica Brown Findlay , Sebastian Koch, Felicity Jones,
Review by Carol Allen
Writer Tamzin Rafn freely admits that the central character of Emelia in this, her debut film, was inspired ...
READ MORE
Dir. Andrea Arnold, UK, 2011, 129 mins
Cast: Kaya Scodelario, James Howson
Review by Carol Allen
Having built her reputation on stories set in the gritty reality of contemporary Britain with Fish Tank ...
READ MORE
Dir. Dexter Fletcher, UK, 2011, 98 mins.
Cast: Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Liz White, Sammy Williams.
Reviewed by Robert Barry
The familiar figure of the old lag turned to the good is here ...
READ MORE
Dir. Carol Morley, UK, 2011, 95 mins
Review by Philippa Bradnock
The story of Joyce Vincent's death seems to be a horrifying tale of the alienating effects of a mobile population and ...
READ MORE
Dir. Michael Winterbottom, UK, 2011, 113 mins
Cast: Freida Pinto, Riz Ahmed
Review by Carol Allen
Director Winterbottom seems to have a particular love for Victorian novelist Thomas Hardy. There was his film ...
READ MORE
Dir. Marc Evans, UK, 2011, 110 mins
Cast: Minnie Driver, Aneurin Barnard, Danielle Branch
Review by Carol Allen
The high school musical film is a tried and trusted genre in the UK as ...
READ MORE
Dir. John Madden, UK, 2011, 124 mins
Cast: Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench
Review by Carol Allen
Based on a novel by Deborah Moggach, the story features a group of ...
READ MORE
Dir. Paris Leonti, UK, 2011, 97mins
Cast: Robert Fucilla, Rob James Collier, Kirsty Mitchell
Review by Dan Collacott
The whole war/military film genre is one mostly defined by an expectation for enormous budgets, ...
READ MORE
Dir. Ralph Fiennes, UK, 2011, 123 mins,
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Chastain
Review by Dee Pilgrim
Following in the footsteps of some ofBritain’s greatest actors (Olivier, ...
READ MORE
Shame (18) | Close-Up Film DVD Review
Albatross (15) | Close-Up Film DVD Review
Wuthering Heights (15) | Close-Up Film DVD Review
Wild Bill (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Dreams of a Life (12A) | Close-Up Film
Trishna (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Hunky Dory (12A) | Close-Up Film Review
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (12A) | Close-Up
Mercenaries (15) | Close-Up Film Review
Coriolanus (15) | Close-Up Film Review
