Living in Hope

I saw this movie at the 2004 Rebelfest International Film Festival in Toronto and thought it was excellent. The British teen-movie/college picture is virtually a non-existent genre but on this evidence one has to wonder why. Student life in the UK is full of great stories and situations and this movie captures many of them as it follows a group of friends through their first term at university in Bristol. Paul Foster is particularly good as the reserved Northerner with a secret but the film showcases some fantastic British talent, a number of whom have progressed significantly since the film's completion in 2002 (Naomie Harris for instance went on to appear in 28 Days Later). The film is carefully paced and balances the more leisurely emotional scenes with high-tempo moments of action and comedy to form a really satisfying mix. The non-British audience found some of the dialogue a little hard to follow at times (due to some strong accents) but the chemistry of the characters seemed to win most people over. Great stuff.

Few years ago I've spent two semesters learning at a uni of South-England and therefore I was so looking forward to see this one. I have to say it was a massive disappointment. It is shocking how an all-English cast could give so little impression of the English way of life and it seems that the movie doesn't even try to create the atmosphere of a real English campus. Even though British humor is world famous, you are guaranteed not to laugh as these characters and their lines aren't from England but Dulland. The dialoques are so painfully boring that you can be sure to hear better ones by simply listening to any random conversation on the bus.

I had the misfortune to sit through this film a couple of years ago as an acquaintance of mine had been given a preview copy to review for a student paper. Briefly, this film is trite and full of awful 'seize the moment, life's for the living' type sound bite dialogue. The plot jerks around in an completely unconvincing manner and the only real message I got from the whole sorry affair was that one can find all the resolve and fortitude necessary in life by going bungee jumping. The actors cast for the students generally look too old, the 'risque' apparently amusing incidents presumably based on writer Guy de Beaujeu's own experiences are tame and quite uninspiring and the performances are uniformly reminiscent of a bad school play.

On the plus side, there is some nice direction and some attractive locations are utilised. The camera-work is also quite good and the film really could have evoked the sense of optimism and hope which it was clearly aiming for, were it not for the leaden script and dire acting.