Ellen

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.

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.

'Ellen' is about the life of a 14 year old who lives in South East London.This film features Jessica Barden, Yasmin Monet Prince and Jaime Winstone and was directed by Mahalia Belo.

Ellen (played by Jessica Barden) is shown to be a trouble maker who struggles to fit in society. She befriends a girl called Kayla (played by Yasmin Monet Prince) who understands her and they become close. Together, they hang out frequently, going through mischief with Ellen's mum (played by Jaime Winstone) boyfriend and Elllen developing a crush on an older friend called Jason.

This film starts with a philosophical thought "If a tree falls in a forest" which reflects on the events that take place later on within the film. Unfortunately, 'Ellen' lacked the dramatic side of the film and only reflected on Ellen being 'mouthy' and troublesome. On the other hand, it did highlight important topics which are not really spoken about in the Media which might attract the likes of parents, teachers and etc.

Ellen was written by Sarah Quintrell, and directed by Mahalia Belo.The star characters of the film are Jessica Barden(Ellen), Yasmin Monet Prince(Kayla), Joe Dempsie(Jason), Jaime Winstone(Ellens Mum), Charlie Creed-Miles(Leon). You can watch Ellen on channel 4 as it's a one- time exclusive.

The story is about a 14-year-old girl(Ellen) growing up in a council home in south-east London. Ellen has been expelled from school and with an unsupportive family behind her, she decides to take full control of her life however this proves to be more difficult than it seems. With Ellen trying to find her way through life she finds two friends. Kayla who attended her previous school who is 14 also. And Jason a man in his mid 20-30s who is a friend of Ellens mums boyfriend, Leon. These two characters help Ellen in the walk of life by supplying happiness and support however you will not be able to comprehend the heartbreaking ending.

Ellen successfully shows how youths can be exploited and groomed with hardly any effort in today's society. It informs us on how important it is to keep children protected as they can easily be misled.

I believe you should go and watch Ellen for yourself as it has a heart touching story with highly intense drama sense throughout.

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.