Departure

10+10+10 Stars! This film tugs my heart on SO many levels. Alex Lawther is magnificent. I felt every emotion along with him. Juliet and Phénix round the cast brilliantly. Tears of joy!

This is a simple story that has so many layers that it becomes completely complex. Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson) is going through a marital crisis and she has brought her son – Elliot (Alex Lawther 'X and y') to help her pack up their idyllic summer home in rural France; it having become another victim to the relationships deterioration. Then Elliot sees a local lad swimming in the reservoir – which is strictly not allowed – and decides he has to get to know this boy better – a lot better.

This is Clement and he is a force of nature , all emotion and rough hewed charm and his arrival makes the simple act of closing down one part of their lives become more about opening up what – until then – had remained closed off in their lives.

This is beautifully filmed and acted to perfection. It is almost painfully honest in places and the raw emotions are both riveting and almost repulsive in equal measure. This is a film that seems to take its time but it really doesn't it is strong and measured and the characters seem completely real. The depth of the story is as complex as reality often is and strikes home all the more forcefully for it. In short this is an absolutely stunning film that is worth all the plaudits and more.

Last year there was only one film that completely shocked me, that put in turmoil the brain and heart, occupying a place for a very long time. It was MOMMY, by Xavier Dolan. DEPARTURE had a similar effect on me. It's a small film, independent, a debut. And perhaps for all these three reasons, there is an urgency so sincere to tell this story to make its strength and its power literally unstoppable. DEPARTURE is a wonderful piece of cinema, which reveals a great director of the future. Powerful, bright, completely honest. Well written, well directed, well played. It comes from the heart. And it goes to the heart.

Andrew Steggall's lovingly directed first feature is a breath of fresh air in the British cinema scene. What at first sight looks to be a quite familiar LGBT coming of age story is turned by Steggall and his lead actress, Juliet Stevenson, into a far deeper and more engaging story. Elliott's (Alex Lawther) discovery of his own sexuality is beautifully framed against the collapse of his parents' marriage and their discovery that their lives had been based on falsehoods that, in some sense had crept up on them unawares. This is a film that will reach out far beyond the LGBT market and should do well across the European art scene. Very finely and delicately shot in the Languedoc region of France it establishes Steggall as a truly new voice in British cinema - not just composed and assured in the medium but with a distinct aesthetic of his own. It will be fascinating to see where he goes in his next feature - surely a larger and even more ambitious project.

This film bears a similarity to Call Me By Your Name in the way that it has been filmed. The cameraman has an artists eye and it has been recorded in some beautiful locations. And it's about a young boys teenage experiences. It also bears a resemblance to Food Of Love and not just because Juliet Stevenson plays the mother of a gay lad in that one too, but the semi-love triangle is a common motif. I'm beginning to think she may be a little type cast?

It's a nice story, although it doesn't really get anywhere. I like something with a good ending personally. It's full of passion and emotion which creates drama. I can't help wondering whether I should feel bad that I've never felt so angry or confused that I've acted out in some of the ways portrayed here. Or should I feel happy that I deal with my drama better?

I felt that the lead, played by Alex Lawther was acted very well. An eccentric character with many quirks who can't have been easy to play. The character of Clement was cute, so he kept me watching and his story was interesting anyway. I don't really feel that the Dad was needed in the film and we could have seen the reactions to him from phone calls, rather than in the flesh and in fact his side of things didn't really add anything.

I might like to see a follow up film showing what happened next as, like I say, it all seems a bit open ended.

Worth a watch and I would consider buying it to keep in my DVD collection.