Still

Simon Blake makes an impressive debut as the writer and director of this edgy, gritty film that is not afraid to take more chances than most. The film is very dark, very slow, and explores the tragedies that happen on the streets daily and yet in Simon's hands it is mesmerizing, largely due to the cast's credible performances.

Set in North London, 'Still' is a gritty and atmospheric thriller about the violent disintegration of a man and father. Tom Carver (Aidan Gillen) is a man stumbling blindly towards a crossroad in his life, thrown out of focus by the death of his teenage son Stephen in a hit and run accident a year earlier. His ex-wife Rachel (Amanda Mealing) moves on, a new girlfriend Christina (Elodie Yung) moves into his squalid apartment, but Tom's life as a photographer is reduced to taking school portraits and drinking excessively and using drugs with his smarmy journalist buddy Ed (Jonathan Slinger). He becomes involved in a feud with a teenage gang after a seemingly harmless collision with a young kid. As the feud becomes more horrifying, Carver's world starts to unravel forcing him to make decisions that will change his life forever. His confrontation with one of the neighborhood gang, Carl (Sonny Green), reveals secrets about his life he has not faced and drives him to perform and act he would have never considered before his son's death. The ending is a stunningly stark and long moment of truth.

Aidan Gillen is particularly fine in evolving his rather bland character into a man driven to acts by re-molded anger. The supporting cast is excellent – especially the vivid confrontation between Gillen and Sonny Green. It is a long and sad song but it has its merits.

Brilliant socio-realist drama. Not only are the actor's performances incredibly gripping but the colour palette and the London locale illustrates the characters very real, internal struggles. From the setting to the script, it is astonishing how accurate Simon Blake portrays the lives of both adults and youths, especially in this day and age – the narrative really makes you think about yourself and about others. I was particularly impressed and amazed by the cinematography which tells the harrowing story of a man in psychological breakdown, in a creative and unique way. The film will take you on an emotional roller-coaster where the grim nature of some scenes are incredibly hard-hitting and will leave an imprint on your memory. Definitely recommend watching this film.

Sobering tale of inner city anarchy set amidst the mean streets of modern day London. Tom is the Everyman faced with horrific choices and propelled forward by a family tragedy. Superb lighting and crisp dialogue illuminate this modern day fable of a good man reaching and becoming aware of his limitations. The dystopian depiction of London is an effective narrative device, the acting solid and capable and a mood of menace is maintained throughout. The director Simon Blake shows himself to be a capable auteur and it will be interesting to see how his muse evolves.

Let's be honest, half of audiences are probably here to see Aiden Gillen (Petyr Baelish) without his trademark medieval backstabbing. It's safe to say that he doesn't disappoint, almost the entire movie is exclusively about his character's spiraling life and his capable performance makes for a realistically brooding lead. Unfortunately, the film has agonizingly slow pace and it would be about one hour into the runtime before the thriller aspect actually plays out grippingly.

Carver (Aiden Gillen) is a father who recently lost his son. He becomes desensitizes with his surrounding, he is less invested on his job and his promiscuous side starts to show. It is about this time that he has an encounter with a gang of juvenile thugs. From trivial things, the confrontation escalates into much more harsher scuffles. The movie is a throughout reflection of the man's hidden angst and rage.

Details about his personal life, simple resentment of the more apparent tendency to drink, are appreciated. However, the excessive exposure also creates plodding in the plot, most of the subplots are too lengthy and not all of them pay off in significant way. His relationships with his best friend, ex-wife or new girls are overlapping. At times, it builds the character nicely but others the scenes might be tedious with the same rehearses theme and dialogues.

There is increasing tension later at the end. Aiden Gillen delivers a good acting as the deep occasionally sad character. This movie is more of a psychological display, it's a drama at heart, not typical crime investigation. While it has its merits, the narrative feels bland. It tries to build up into an impactful message or commentary about degeneration, but it does feel contrived as it uses unsubtle method.

Still has good acting from its lead to portray psychological deterioration, although the journey there is exhausting as the approach can be heavy-handed at times.

I'm honestly surprised that this movie has such a relatively low rating. Okay, it maybe starts a little slow but then the movie completely captivated me and it stayed with me long after the credits rolled. It shows a very gritty, twisted and cruel side of the world that's shockingly realistic and all the actors do a great job. Especially Aidan Gillen was brilliant and his character development was interesting to see as he is facing a very difficult situation and has to make some difficult decisions. I'm highly recommending this movie for every thriller fan who likes to get his morals tested by a thought- provoking movie.