Kelly + Victor

I saw this at the Dublin Film Festival just because it was on before another film I wanted to see. The film blew me away and was my favorite of the festival. The film follows the troubled Kelly and Victor as they become deeper and deeper involved in an affair which was passionate but destructive. Throughout the film its never made clear whether this is love or lust and this is one of the films strengths.

The film is challenging and at times shocking but also has moments of haunting beauty. Stylistically the film is definitely a mix between a grimy realism and a more lyrical poetical style plus the sex scenes which are quite intense. Plus a note about the acting. Don't look what the two leads have done before, their performances are totally stunning and brilliant.Also the film never feels the need to make anything explicit. There are hints about the characters past but much like in Shame, these are implicit hints which trust the audience to be smart enough to piece together. This is a film which will stay with you long after the credits roll

There was an MP in the UK some years ago who was found by the police hanging from the back of his kitchen door with an orange in his mouth and his trousers round his ankles. Auto-eroticism gone wrong that was, and you have to wonder if something similar is on the cards for "Victor" (Julian Morris) as he hooks up with "Kelly" (Antonia Campbell-Hughes). They are in the sack pretty much immediately after they meet, and she introduces him to a few hitherto unknown kinks. Not only does he get off on them, he starts to need them to orgasm at all - even on his own. With "Kelly" unable to discern what may or may not be an acceptable limit and his increasing addiction, you begin to wonder if their game is heading for disaster. It's been done on a fairly shoestring budget, by the looks of it, but the camera loves Morris and there's quite a compelling effort, especially as the film concludes, from Campbell-Hughes. There's some sex, but it's photographed harmlessly enough to give us the idea and not really the detail. Unfortunately, there's a lot of padding here, and by half way through when we've all got the message we could skip to the denouement swiftly, I reckon. It's really only got enough scope for a short feature, maybe 45 minutes tops, but is still a solid effort from auteur Kieran Evans though as he tackles a taboo subject in a fashion that's just about worth a watch.

I was interested in this because it was mostly shot locally. It's a slow burner with some really weak scenes along the way, but it builds in masochistic tension quite impressively and has a well worked climax (smirk). Campbell-Hughes doesn't carry with her the normal type of sexual charisma that erotic films usually need. Instead she's got this subversive thing that keeps you on edge.

There's something 'everyman' about Julian Morris that makes you identify with him but he can occasionally border on the amateur in some of the weaker scenes.

A mixed but worthy addition to the UK indie scene.

I really thought that there were some things that were out of bounds in the film genre, but I guess I was wrong. This film gives one explanation on how some men can get addicted to erotic asphyxiation. There is a sentence I thought I'd never say. Kelly (Antonia Campbell-Hughes) is a strange girl who apparently grew up with some major issues. I mean, I have had some wild times in my day, but nearly strangling someone during sex is not anything that I have ever thought about. Strangling them after we were done, now that's a different story (smile). Kelly looked like she was about twelve years old. She was really super thin and had absolutely no shape about her. At one point she was sitting in front of some food and I was thinking, please let this poor child put some kind of nourishment in her mouth. Apparently the lack of sustenance did not hamper her ability to over-power; I guess she had the same bone structure as Wolverine. As for Victor (Julian Morris), he seemed like just an average single guy looking to score. He hooks up with Kelly who introduces him to this violent form of sexual expression. I guess you don't know what you like until you have it for the first time. Things get even tougher if it becomes an obsession and everyone knows how hard it is to kick when you are obsessed. Not only was this an independent film, but it was a foreign film as well. There was a lot of sex and nudity in this film, but that is not unusual for films from other countries (especially Europe). I can remember seeing nudity on television at a very young age (not sex; but just body parts) and it seemed normal. It always makes me chuckle when movie-goers are surprised when an unexpected body part flashes across the screen. I am glad that we are not giving ratings for this film because there were times that some of the scenes were uncomfortable to watch. The one thing that I will give the director is that he did manage to touch on a subject that is not well known and possibly misunderstood. Luckily, I watch enough of Crime Scene Investigation stories that I have seen this affliction before. I am not sure if this film will be in wide release in this country, but it may do very well in Wales.

"Kelly + Victor" is the story of a sadomasochistic relationship between a young couple who meet in a nightclub then go back to hers for sex. It's a thin little story tarted up with shots of nature and landscape between the bouts of not very pleasant passion. It's a film that shows real promise, (director Kieran Evans won a BAFTA for it), but is too concerned with softening the blow by making this into an 'art' movie complete with visit to an art gallery. I think it would have been a better picture had a more direct approach been taken. Julian Morris is outstanding as Victor; he is a naturally physical performer who throws himself completely into the role. If Antonia Campbell-Huges is less impressive as Kelly it may be because her character never feels real. Her addiction to kinky sex feels to me like a scriptwriter's affectation. It's a bleak, grim little picture, very 21st century kitchen-sink and it made me long for the less explicit but more dramatically satisfying British films of the early 1960's.