Scrapper

Lola Campbell carries this movie as Georgie. She is such a good actress for her age. This is my first time seeing her in a movie and I'm hoping to see her in many more.

As for the rest of the movie, I think it has quite good depictions of how people deal with grief and loss. Georgie's dad in the movie has a particular good little arc and becomes very likeable by the end of the film.

Alin Uzum as Ally has some great comedic moments and lands all his jokes very well. There is also a great little comedic moment with Georgie and her dad in around the mid point of the movie which got a big laugh out of my audience.

This film presents a curious case where numerous individual elements seem mismatched and unlikely to blend well, yet, remarkably, they come together to create a cohesive and compelling whole. The synergy of these components remains somewhat of a mystery to me, but there's no denying that the end result is captivating. A significant part of this success can be attributed to the outstanding acting, which brings a level of authenticity and engagement that elevates the entire experience. In essence, despite its seemingly disparate parts, the film manages to work exceptionally well in a way that is both surprising and gratifying.

"Georgie" (Lola Campbell) ingeniously manages to hoodwink social services following the death of her mother, and so lives on her own and makes a living running an unique cycle recycling programme with her friend "Ali" (Ali Uzun) that keeps them in ready cash. One afternoon, a guy leaps the back fence and introduces himself as her absentee father "Jason" (Harris Dickinson). She wants nothing to do with him, but he's no quitter and over the next hour or so we see the pair gradually realise what they have been missing in the years they spent apart. There isn't really much jeopardy here but what there is, is chemistry, The young Campbell is hugely charismatic and her mischievous but decent characterisation of a latter day urchin is really quite engaging. It's also one of Dickinson's more characterful efforts too. He doesn't rely on his looks and his musculature - he is also delivering us an enjoyable performance to watch as their relationship evolves - and not always smoothly. The writing offers us a dialogue that comes across as genuine, funny and for a low-ish budget effort this really is well worth a watch. I saw it at the cinema, but I'm not sure you need that - television will do fine.

I watched this on my BFI subscription and, after a couple of minutes, was wondering if it was going to go anywhere other than the artful cinematogrophy. I'm so glad I kept watching because, very soon afterwards, as soon as Georgie and Ali are introduced to us, and as soon as I heard the first lines of script, it was evident that this was special.

What stands out about it? Well, on the surface, the cinematography, acting, script and, of course, direction, is not only individually outstanding but is also cohesive. In the background, the sound, music, production design are all major factors in making this film so special. The colours are incredible.

The script is clever. It's playfully minimal (is that a thing?) with some choice lines. The range of close and wide shots gives the actors a many possibilities to play with, which they do with aplomb.

It's a film about adversity, loss, trust, and love...maybe in that order too.

Saw this at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival

"Scrapper" is a film about Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality. Being director Charlotte Regan first feature, the film is strong.

Throughout, the presentation, camerawork, colors, soundtrack and setting is pretty colorful and professional. The main story is pretty simple and certain elements remained me a lot of The Florida Project. While this film does offer some good insights on the poor areas of the UK, the themes isn't as strong as I think it is.

The performances from the cast are pretty good and the characters were interesting to observe from start to end. The dialogue moments had some funny and clever words, although some felt really fake and not believable. "Scrapper" is a type of film that fees familiar and basic but the overall experience was pretty interesting as there is good humor and chemistry between.

Rating: B.