Scrapper

You can tell "Scrapper" is heartfelt, and it has what could have been a heart tugging premise if it had been better made. But the movie is anemic and undercooked. It doesn't build out characters enough for you to feel any of the things the movie clearly wants you to be feeling about them.

It also doesn't help that there's not a lot of rooting interest in these people. The dad played by Harrison Dickinson is kind of a jerk, and I think we're supposed to see that he's grown by the time the movie's over and see is reentry into his daughter's life as a good thing. But he remains a jerk, and doesn't grow, and encourages his daughter to steal bikes and get away with assaulting other kids. The happy ending this movie forces on us didn't feel all that happy to me. I've known dead beat dads in real life, and the movie was more convinced than I was that this guy was going to stop being a dead beat.

Grade: C.

This film presents a curious case where numerous individual elements seem mismatched and unlikely to blend well, yet, remarkably, they come together to create a cohesive and compelling whole. The synergy of these components remains somewhat of a mystery to me, but there's no denying that the end result is captivating. A significant part of this success can be attributed to the outstanding acting, which brings a level of authenticity and engagement that elevates the entire experience. In essence, despite its seemingly disparate parts, the film manages to work exceptionally well in a way that is both surprising and gratifying.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Scrapper" is a film about Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality. Being director Charlotte Regan first feature, the film is strong.

Throughout, the presentation, camerawork, colors, soundtrack and setting is pretty colorful and professional. The main story is pretty simple and certain elements remained me a lot of The Florida Project. While this film does offer some good insights on the poor areas of the UK, the themes isn't as strong as I think it is.

The performances from the cast are pretty good and the characters were interesting to observe from start to end. The dialogue moments had some funny and clever words, although some felt really fake and not believable. "Scrapper" is a type of film that fees familiar and basic but the overall experience was pretty interesting as there is good humor and chemistry between.

Rating: B.

I watched this on my BFI subscription and, after a couple of minutes, was wondering if it was going to go anywhere other than the artful cinematogrophy. I'm so glad I kept watching because, very soon afterwards, as soon as Georgie and Ali are introduced to us, and as soon as I heard the first lines of script, it was evident that this was special.

What stands out about it? Well, on the surface, the cinematography, acting, script and, of course, direction, is not only individually outstanding but is also cohesive. In the background, the sound, music, production design are all major factors in making this film so special. The colours are incredible.

The script is clever. It's playfully minimal (is that a thing?) with some choice lines. The range of close and wide shots gives the actors a many possibilities to play with, which they do with aplomb.

It's a film about adversity, loss, trust, and love...maybe in that order too.

One of those low budget, British films that I like to catch has all the ingredients of the genre as we watch an independent 12 year old called Georgie reconnect with her estranged father. Jason who left for a new life in Ibiza.

The film has a little comedy element at times which breaks the mood of the film which can otherwise have become depressing and kitchen sink. However the performance of young actress Lola Campbell as Georgie is a delight.

Despite seemingly wearing the same football shirt throughout the film (joked upon in one scene) she brings this film to life as a 12 year old fighting the demons of her mother's passing and living (somehow) alone surviving by stealing cycles and cycle parts and selling them for whatever money she can earn.

The premise of the film has often been repeated but not in the way this film is handled. Be it the location, the characters and their actions or casting a streetwise kid of the street as Georgie. The screenplay does tug at the heart strings as you would expect as the film goes on. It has a pretty short running-time of only 84 minutes but it is a film I would make the effort to watch.

The director, Charlotte Regan makes her feature debut with this film. I will be looking out for future Regan work for sure.