Everything Movie Review:


This micro-budget British drama draws us in due to its growing-mystery plot and sharp interaction between the characters. It's a vivid example of the raw power of cinema, which has nothing at all to do with Hollywood slickness.

Richard (Ray Winstone) tentatively, reluctantly climbs the stairs to visit a "model", code for prostitute, in a Central London flat. She's Naomi (Graveson), and she quickly tires of Richard's desire to just talk and nothing else. But Richard keeps coming back, often with board games to play, paying for Naomi's time and asking extremely personal questions, which she doesn't want to answer. So she turns the tables on him. And eventually she discovers what he's up to.

The story develops simply, gradually, almost elusively through each encounter, plus in-between scenes involving both characters with other people in their lives (Richard's wife and a Russian hooker Naomi rescues). What's really going on here isn't obvious, and we have to get through a lot of surprising revelations and confrontations before the emotional truth emerges. Hawkins directs as straightforwardly as he writes, simply focussing on the expressive faces of his cast, even though we might not fully understand their motives.

Winstone shines in a refreshing break from his usual crime-thug roles. Sensitive, tortured, curious--we can tell this isn't haphazard, there's something driving him, and the dawning revelation is powerfully moving. Meanwhile, Graveson is a superb balance of steely resilience and inner compassion. When Naomi challenges Richard, the film gathers a wonderful buzz of energy, even though little actually happens on screen. There's superb chemistry between them--an awkward tenseness that we know will go somewhere interesting.

And it does. Hawkins has a vitally important point to make here, and he does it without ever being obvious about it. Yes, it's rather vague. The murky cinematography betrays the basic production values, but it also gives a raw honesty to every scene, highlighting the seedy, under-furnished world these people inhabit. And in the end, the film isn't about what we think it'll be--it's a lovely, gritty story about the strong vitality of women, even in the face of men who want to strip away both identity and soul.



Rich Cline

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