Catch Me Daddy

Catch Me Daddy was a near-miss for me. A cat-and-mouse thriller about a white British bloke and his young Muslim girlfriend on the run from her possessive father in Yorkshire, it dips its toe into matters of feminism in Islam and the taboo of interracial relationships, but mainly concerns itself with one close shave after another for our increasingly desperate fugitive pair... along with shocking scenes of violence which are all the more affecting because they occur so sparingly.

Mostly taking place over the course of one brutal night, the story displays many rundown locations around the county and introduces us to a selection of particularly unsavoury characters; a Tourist Board advertisement for the region it is not. MiIdly diverting but definitely overlong, it's another one of those films that concludes with a giant question mark hanging over it. Some people would appreciate the ambiguity, other would prefer something a bit more concrete. I exist firmly in the latter camp. 5/10.

'Catch Me Daddy' is a disturbingly charged and viscerally moving film with superb cinematography and timing which juxtaposes a stunning modern day Yorkshire Dales landscape with a alienated feel of tombstone... You almost expect tumbleweed to roll by at some point...

The powerful symbolism and imagery draws you into hidden world full of hidden meanings yet it still manages to challenge viewers to think about the injustices portrayed, which are real in a modern world and the uncomfortable subjects of revenge, killing for honour and respect and lawlessness.

The use of unknown actors in the lead roles is a genius move and really brings home the realism of the subject matter without sensationalising the issue of young girls and women being murdered for honour and respect.

Directed by the Wolfe brothers and produced by EMU Films, two British collaborations (and not too British) are making a name for themselves and are the ones to watch in the near future.

I had no idea what I was about to watch. Never heard or the film and bought in charity shop for a pound on blu ray.

At first it felt painfully slow. Then the tension began to mount.

Fine performances for all involved.(Except the milkshake boy!? Terrible) Gritty, realistic and gripping.

So why did they end it so disappointingly??

It wasn't original or edgy to keep the viewer dangling like that. It was just lazy and left you feeling cheated.

Lost lot of points for that.

I guess the director thought he was being cool.

Fail.

Music video guys (both white) try to direct a narrative movie, choose a subject that they clearly no nothing about or have any experience of. Film looks good, starts well, then slowly it becomes clear that the central relationship of the film is paper thin, under developed and badly realised, the runaway couple don't seem to be a couple at all, no sense of love or that they even actually know each other, and then it descends into a honour killing narrative, where nobody involved rings the police, and about 50 people are involved in this (some are white.......). Credibility zero. Writers picked the subject, treated it with no depth, then didn't know what to do with it at all, or how to actually write, or how to end what they choose as a story. The film reaches for importance when but is totally hamstrung by bad writing.

Fizzles to zero in the last half hour. Disappears up its own bum might be another description. No ending, a cop out.

Some decent scenes, which work, some good new actors and nice cinematic locations. Some of it seems well directed at the start especially. Good camera work too. BUT Without a proper story or real characters, by the end it's like a .... Well, a music video.

Director has an eye. Simple fix next time is to Hire a scriptwriter who can tell stories properly. Part of the blame should go to the BFI and lottery types who funded this and signed off on the shoddy script, badly realised characters and the ropey treatment of the serious subject.

Director never made another film, but may have learned good shots and visuals on their own, don't equal a proper story / characters. Missed opportunity. Potentially worth seeing, just don't expect it to work. The Raul Moat joke was good, and Barry and some of the lads seemed authentic, more so than the overall story/scenes.

The plot is fairly simple; Leila is on the run from her family, she is hiding in Yorkshire with her boyfriend Aaron. Her brother then rocks up into town with his crew of ne'er do wells and some hired hands who are also less than appealing.

They are going to leave no stone unturned in their search for the seemingly errant Leila and as ever violence begets violence and so begins a deadly chase.

Now this is a really good film; it has enough tension to make you wear the edge of your seat out. The characters are brutally realised and the acting is superb. It is visceral, taught and realistic. Made with help from Film 4 and Screen Yorkshire this is a film that has used that support wisely and given a platform to showcase some real talent. Sameena Jabeen Ahmed puts in a show stopping performance as Leila, the sometimes under rated Gary Lewis ('Outlander' and 'Filth') as Tony manages to shine – for all the right reasons - in a role that at first seemed peripheral.

This will be a film that will not be liked by some and the way things pan out is surprising, but that is fine by me I like to be challenged by a plot. Director Daniel Wolfe, who co-wrote this, has made a feature length film that he should be proud of and hopefully will lead to us seeing more from him in the very near future.