Ray & Liz

An interesting film, with strong central performances, which nevertheless doesn't quite work. It captures the boredom and monotony of lives in many British cities in the 1980's. The cities that had been ravaged by the unemployment that had resulted from the neo-liberal policies of the Margaret Thatcher led Conservative Party.

The film is strongest in its portrayal of the eponymous central characters whose believability stems from them being unable and unwilling to change. It's refreshing to see a film that doesn't soften the edges of their characters by portraying them as having gleaned lessons from their actions resulting in them becoming better people.

Visually, the film is impressive, imbuing the audience with the same feeling of claustrophobia the characters possess. Sometimes the feeling is so oppressive it seems as if you are stuck there in the flat with them, almost overcome with the smell of stale cigarette smoke, spilt home brew and dog.

Despite a lot of positives, the film never feels as if it is the sum of its parts. The scenes work in isolation but put together never quite add up to a satisfying film. It more closely resembles a series of short films welded together that doesn't quite work as a cohesive whole.

Firstly it's set in the Black Country - NOT Birmingham! Lots of very authentic scenes, very well done. A lot of people will struggle with it, but having been brought up around the same time, I can see the parallels.

Definitely not a film for taking your partner on a first date Sadly there are families like this all around Britain.

Well done Richard for giving them a voice so authentically. Every actor was brilliant and like all good writing was given time to show their situation.

The child actors were amazing .little angels I wanted to wisk away to something better.

The parents needed to attend a 'SureStart' centre.

I hope this director gets the chance to further his career.

A worthy successor to the wonderful Ken Loach.

Poverty and despair are depicted in painful, beautiful detail in this autobiographical debut film from Richard Billingham. The performances are subtly brilliant and the overall attention to detail makes this feel more like a documentary at times. As such there's not really a story here but a glimpse into the lives of a dysfunctional family at a very specific time and place. This is not easy viewing but stands as one of the best films I've seen in years.

When I realised the story was working-class centred, I felt optimistic as there is plenty of highly acclaimed films within this sub-genre that have been made in the past. The most notable directors making these are probably Ken Loach and Mike Leigh.

This film sees the directorial debut from Richard Bellingham, who seems to be showing his childhood from his upbringing in Birmingham.

What I liked about it the most was authentic look it had in every department. From the surroundings, to the sets, costumes and performances.

I was intrigued by the decisions in jumping from two timelines as wells as it got me wanting to know how the journey was going to develop into destination that we see in the opening scene.

The tone had mixes of comedy, strong British drama and some disturbing despicable moments.

The latter made it feel tricky to root for any characters as I just pityed them for the remainder of the film.

Then while the final act did mildly fill the gaps in the story from the opening scene, I just felt it could have been executed better and maybe be more impactful.

I didn't think much of it in the end. It is fairly solid throughout and there was nothing wrong in terms of the production department. The authenticity of the time period was the most impressive aspect and it was an interesting enough working-class story.

But finding it hard to feel sympathy for the characters and not feeling the story being completed made it also look a bit unfulfilled.

With many stronger directors out there showing similar stories, this particular feature I think could feel lost. But there is potential for a strong story to come out of Richard Bellingham both as a director and as a writer. So maybe see this a film as a work in progress.

Rating: 7/10