Away

Hi, saw this film at Edinburgh film festival and it knocked my socks off. I cried and laughed. Juno Temple and Tim Spall are amazing in it, those eyes staring down from the big screen (Juno's!) and Spall is very convincing in his wretched situation. Great story and how it's told is really clever as it's not straight forward like you might get with a Hollywood Blockbuster: You get fed elements of the story as small morsels along the way to always keep you enthralled. The scenery also makes me want to go to Blackpool too so a good advert there for them! A man in the audience commented on how he always cries at the drop of a hat at films but he knows it must be powerful as his wife who never ever cries at films was crying buckets.

Life is anything but fun in Blackpool,"the Vegas of the North", for the wildly different leading characters in this roller-coaster story of unlikely friendship. Seedy, middle-aged Joseph (Timothy Spall) and tarty teenage Ria (Juno Temple) are both in pain, seeking escape amongst the neon lights and seagulls. His unwilling response to her emotional need turns into recognition that he likes her and that their conditions are similar, leading to a shocking, very moving climax. Spall's curmudgeon is a bit overdone and unintelligible at times; Temple is convincing as the hard-shelled victim of 21st century drug culture, and their interplay is delightful to watch. This is a poignant, entertaining drama reminiscent of classic British films such as "Poor Cow" and "Up the Junction" but with a modern edge. Terrific music too!

My interest in cinema was first stimulated by such films as "A Taste of Honey" and "A kind of Loving"-films which depicted gritty aspects of British life. "AWAY" is a film in this tradition, a portrait of a relationship between two disparate souls in search of some sort of redemption or renewal. Juno Temple is magnetic and Timothy Spall is magnificently moody-excellent performances from both actors. The photography is very good, and I really liked the music track. Blackpool provides a great backdrop, and appealed to me as a 'character' in its own right, providing a bridge between the two characters - having simultaneously an ageing underbelly, whilst displaying regrowth and renewal-and maybe hope for a better future?

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. In today's continuously challenging world , it hit some very strong chords with me. So often new films today seem to have little to say, often the same old story lines with slight twists. However, this really got me thinking about life, it's complexities and the reality of the difficulties so many people face. Life's journey is never simple, and every so often a film is released that captures something special ...I think it will be very popular, especially with people who enjoy films that have more to them than the basic Hollywood stuff...some seriously good acting, and music fab.actually the music was superb! The story line has the ability to remind one that ,although you may have your own issues and challenges, you are not alone. In today's environment so many people face daily survival and this film reminded me , there are many in the same boat. I think it's a must see ,and is a film one could watch more than once to really capture its powerful symbolism .

Engrossingly downbeat melodrama about two disparate, down-on-their-luck characters who meet far from cutely in a dour bar in a no less moribund, off-season, brine-lashed Blackpool. While frequently grim, depressing, and emotionally raw, 'Away' never feels oppressively maudlin of self-consciously negative, since it is hard not to sympathize with the downwardly spiralling protagonist's desperate predicament, especially when they are given so much heart-wrenching humanity by gifted actors Juno Temple & Timothy Spall. This unflinchingly terse tableau of two profoundly damaged, doomily displaced souls cruelly ravaged by the arbitrary tempests of a hard-knock life ultimately proved to be a surprisingly edifying experience, and while the cinematically sweet conclusion my initially seem overly sentimental, it is, perhaps, wholly deserved. Fans of earnestly existential UK indie-dramas set within the darker interstices of everyday life should seek out talented film-maker David Blair's melancholy, darkly sardonic feature.