Ellen

I'm in the U.S, I watched this made-for-TV film yesterday and am still struck by the films story, portrayal and message. Most of the cast deliver very fine performances (particularly our protagonist) and the directing is quite good. I'm glad that I had the chance to watch, it's touching. Ellen is a 14 year old girl in a broken home and is living with her mom and dying grandmom in a council home (project). Her father is a railway engineer of sorts and is deliberately absent from her life, he only acknowledges his other daughter to his comrades (we never meet him).

Her mother is an immature, selfish alcoholic who's more concerned with throwing parties and her latest fling than she is for the welfare of her daughter. Ellen's companions are liquor, drugs, Kayla, and Jason. Kayla is a schoolmate whom Ellen has never acknowledged until they meet one lonely night and party together. Kayla's mom is deceased, and her dad is a truck driver who spends his days on the road and often leaves her alone. Kayla is a good and kind girl and sort of more self-controlled than Ellen. She has little resistance to acting wild with her new friend.

Jason is a single man in his late 20's or early 30's. He's a neighbor who sometimes parties with her mom. He seems lonely and relates his own adolescence well with that of Ellen's. He shows real concern. He provides her with a free phone, food, support and companionship.

Unease sets in early for the audience. Her moms newest boyfriend behaves decidedly predatory, like a pedo. So Ellen avoids him and her mum. Ellen seems hell-bent on self-destruction, and has no parental support.

What will happen with this young girl?

I liked the premise and theme behind this film which is touched upon at the beginning and end but the bits inbetween were boring. There were no new ideas with this film - everything screamed posh privileged film school grad trying to make a film a about a hard done by working class girl who lives on a council estate. Its a great immitation of shane meadows but lacks its own voice.

The heightened tragedy Ellen (2016), a one-off drama on channel 4, which I believe was beautifully written and directed by Sarah Quintrell and Mahalia Belo. It is set in south east London and directed at teenagers and adults and highlights concerns in society today.

The main character Ellen, played by Jessica Barden, adheres to the archetype of chavs in a gritty portrayal of life in an urban estate. Clothed in the stereotypical knocked off trainers, clothes and living in a council house. With a discouraging, dysfunctional family and no father figure she is forced to grow up quickly. As a consequence, she is exposed to such explicit things at a young age – drugs and alcohol.

Underage sex and grooming are the two moral panics presented in this drama as the vulnerable teenager is taken advantage of by the one person who she had confided in after the death of a loving family member. To me the camera angles were very ambiguous throughout the short film, however this maybe a deliberate act to show Ellen's uncertainty towards relationships as with best friend Kayla who we establish just wants the best for Ellen. Also, the feeling of despair she carries as she is dissatisfied with her life and people within it. Another critique of the film would be the ending as I believe it did not disclose much, therefore we do not exactly know what happens to Ellen.

I admired how the film opens with a question which foreshadows what occurs at the end of the film. This added dramatic tension to the story by building anticipation about what might happen next. I would recommend it to others as I believe it raises awareness of young people in our society who are disregarded when going through such events.

Beautifully directed and written, I had the impression the camera was playing with me during the whole film. The time frame is uncertain, as is Ellen's process through grief and towards friendship. Whether it's close-ups or just an original angle, the movie makers have left a fine trail of clues that apparently mean orient your opinion on one of the ambiguous characters. But I'm still unsure whether the average viewer is supposed to take them for their word(or frames) or if they are meant to trick you. The actors are all "marvellous" and very believable; you can really feel Ellen's loneliness and her rage and anger. This movie definitely deserves a debate and I'm hopelessly looking for interviews of the movie makers and cast to find out more about its ending.

This Intelligent British 'Reality' movie speaks to the angst of female adolescence, amidst alienation, poverty, and single parent homes. Love is confused and unrequited. Sex is wrong, and barely comprehended. Friendship is everything, and there is delight in this sharing of life's moments. Delight in the simple fact that the sharing of life's moments gives them enough meaning, to turn them into memories to treasure. Money can't buy this quality of life, and in fact, it's the lack of money and familial security, that brings the living into such keen focus. The variables are reduced to simple basics, so choice is limited to deal or no deal. There's a typically restrained British whimsy about this story, but also a refreshingly bright vision, with pastel shades of surrealism. The two female characters create their own life-pod thought-bubble to insulate them from the troubles in their lives, and this IS the story, and the secret of it's power to captivate. Writer Sarah Quintrell richly deserved the accolades and awards for her writing work in Ellen, and clearly she found a huge advocate and ally in Director - Mahalia Belo; who along with Producer - Ben Bickerton, may just have created a sublimely subtle, future British classic. The magic is in the blend of story and characters. Jessica Barden's (Ellen), fire and rage is perfect chemistry for Yasmin Monet Prince's (Kayla) calm and warmth. Both are wise souls, but suffering loss and tragedy from different enough angles to understand, yet still support each other. This is a tender and sweet telling of adventure in the face of vulnerability, and hope in the faces of the broken hearted. Simply Lovely.