Electricity

I was drawn to this small, little-known British film by its star, since I have always found that model Agyness Deyn has such a fascinating face. In fact, Deyn - in her first major movie - is not just the central character but in every scene and, given her lack of acting experience, her performance is remarkable. She plays Lily O'Connor, a young woman from the north who travels down to London to seek the younger brother she has not seen since childhood.

The distinguishing feature of this film, directed by Bryn Higgins, is that from a very early age Lily has suffered frequent and severe epileptic fits. I was once travelling on an inter-city train when the young woman sitting next to me had an epileptic fit and I have never forgotten it. This film is part-funded by the Wellcome Foundation and its representation of such fits is very effective and striking.

Agyness Deyn squanders her singular theatrical talent in this film just as she so well did in Sunset Song. Her performance in Electricity comes on really strong in every single image or frame she is on making her taxing role gain and perhaps surpass credibility. I have seen her in these two films so far and I have grown very fond of her interpreting skills. There's something about her acting that I find captivating. It strikes me though as if she had been suitably pigeonholed to enact really harsh roles that can only fill us with heartfelt sympathy, pity and compassion for the characters she portrays so majestically. They don't half know how to endure pain! I cannot wait to see her in her upcoming films interpreting other roles and we might as well test and hopefully taste her potential versatility. Cinematographically speaking I think she has a promising career ahead of her with lot to offer for us to just behold and relish it jaw-droppingly. Just wait and see! In the meantime, keep off watching the mundane hotchpotch of unsubstantial films that abound these days and stick to this delectable one.

Typical low budget British film with epilepsy providing the electricity of the title. Model Agyness Dean makes her acting debut in the lead role as a northern UK lady called Lily searching for her long lost brother. The purpose being as well as the emotional delight of being reunited with him, to share the probate from the death of their 'interesting' mother.

Lily suffers from debilitating epilepsy. Her frequent seizures causing painful physical injuries. The search for her brother leads from Cleveland to the smoke of London complete with its mad mainline railway stations and claustrophobic underground system. Hardly environments to help her condition? The actual seizures are presented realistically and for that the film makers must be congratulated. The acting is a little woeful at times but the gritty Brit thriller does provide entertainment that would fill a daytime television channel schedule some day I suppose.

I liked the story-line/acting/occasional visual effects to suggest the epileptic fits. Deyn is sensational as the main character. Visually striking and amazingly empathic. Low budget but goes to show a good movie doesn't need a big spend. Interesting how other reviewers with epilepsy state the way the seizures are presented is very effective. As a doctor it did give me some cause for pause in how we treat this difficult condition and hope that patients will just follow their prescription. Possibly essential viewing for all medical students.

I expect the director and cast will always remember this movie fondly - well done all!

This movie did receive some promotion when it received a very limited release last year with Agyness Deyn appearing on Sky News explaining how ELECTRICITY is a realistic portrayal of epilepsy , which is what her character Lily suffers from . I've known epileptics myself and I'm sure you have also so I came in to the film expecting a rather expressionistic drama . One thing that puzzled me though was that just before seeing it I logged on to this page and noticed only a grand total of 74 people had given it a rating while only two people had commentated on it . That said ELECTRICITY isn't a film produced to sell out the local multiplex while the salad dodging audience chomp on pizza and suck up Coca-Cola through a straw and just because a film doesn't receive distribution doesn't equate to it being a truly awful film so I went in with an open mind

Now to be fair to everyone involved they must have made a film that nails the sheer misery of being an epileptic or having a loved one with suffers from this infliction . The cast are also very good especially the always underrated Paul Anderson in a small role but ELECTRICITY is a very unsatisfying film for a neutral audience . It belongs in a sub genre best described as "grief porn" which British film makers are very good at where someone tries to make the most depressing film in the history of cinema . The mood is gloomy and the story is rather threadbare . Lily is looking for her lost brother and the more she looks for him the more obstacles are in the way and the more depressed the audience become

As I said the technical achievements are more than competent and the scenes where the audience see an epileptic attack through the eyes of a sufferer are really well done but ELECTTRICITY shows that if you don't have a good story at the core of the film then you won't have a good film and this lack of narrative would have worked much better as a short film