Dirty God

The actress Vicky Knight was 8-year old when her body was burned to 30% consecutively to an arson. She has hidden her body for years and this film, suddenly, shows it tenfold. Thus, Dirty God (2019) is realized without any Computer-Generated Imagery and Vicky Knight shines and even radiates despite her environment devoid of empathy and full of morons. As for God, we're still looking for him...

Being acidated by a cruel friend, the story is sparse on the matter, its more the tough psychological fight it is to look different at a young age . the burn scars sticks deep, and even deeper than people around her can understand. choosing to wear a burka to avoid people to see the scars, and doing the sex online on the internet doesnt make matters easier.

its a film about being made estranged to your surroundings, and the lack of real support is like a major acidosis. the acting are plain, but not developing, and just stays sad and at times extreme childish. the make up deartment has done a good job on the wound parts, and the score makes this film afloat.

but allover it is a very sad and gloomy story, with a raw british realism attached to it, so the grumpy old man recommends it to all that can stay in for 100 mins of heavy psychosocial realism. its not a rewind for me though.

Jade (Vicky Knight) is released from the hospital after suffering terrible burns by her baby daddy. She struggles to renew her life. She cannot accept her scars as permanent. She is desperate to get plastic surgery. She saves up the money to pay for treatment in a Moroccan clinic.

This is my second movie with director Sacha Polak and Vicky Knight. Obviously, Vicky's look is very unique. She's a good actress, but her looks limit her roles. It's too bad. As her first feature, she really shows compelling work. This is missing the inciting incident. Unlike her second movie, it is more egregious since it could have been a simple acid attack. All in all, this is a terrific introduction.

This film really hits home as it gets inside the head of the main character and takes us on a rollercoaster emotional experience. We are never quite sure where the film is heading, it really works on a more docu-drama level than any film I have watched since "Amores Perros". It has a very gritty approach to British subculture and the only violence occuring has preceeded the start of the film. Casting an actual burned actress in the main roll adds a dynamic that would be hard to achieve otherwise. Acting is first class, the film never lets up and really has neither a good or bad ending, it is just what it is - a snapshot of a beautiful young girl tragically maimed and trying to come to terms with a future, any future.

When a beautiful young woman has acid thrown in her face, what does it do to her sense of self? This is the key question in this intoxicating 21st century London drama.

The film is reminiscent of Andrea Arnold's work. All the scars (literally) are laid bare. This is no redemptive story but Jade does grow. And the journey is moving and cathartic.