Pictures of Lily

I went to see Pictures of Lily at its recent showing at The Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham. It was fantastic to see something different to the norm. The film is beautifully shot, with a strong local (Brighton) influence in terms of locations and soundtrack.

However that is definitely not the whole story. I found the whole ethos of the film entirely different and refreshing. I really enjoyed the different take on the boy meets girl narrative, coupled with a style that doesn't take itself too seriously. (Watch out for the homages to classic cinema)

Independent films like this are real gems in a mass market of car chases and formulaic dross. Go see this film if you get the chance and expect something different from the norm.

I was mesmerized by this film. Elena Saorin's Lily is captivating (she is a star in the making). The dialogue is clever and amusing. Watching the characters walking and talking around town feels like eavesdropping, which makes it even more interesting. The director has created a beautiful movie. I don't know if he is a fan of Richard Linklater, but I get that vibe. I recommend Pictures of Lily to all lovers of intelligent conversation and non conventional relationships (and even if you're not typically a fan, give it a try). This film is a reminder of how good this genre can be. And what a great showcase for Brighton. I now want to pay a visit to this interesting, Bohemian seaside town.

Pictures of lily. A friend of mine sent this film asking to give reviews. It was a real mixed bag, some of the filming was of a good standard and some looked like a cheap soft s.x film. Over all the acting was OK, the bond between the couple kinda worked, but the script seemed pretentious at times. I'm from Brighton and some of the shots were lovely. I think you can see the budget in the film, the sound was terrible in places and there was a shot of a lady pregnant and there wasn't any attempt to make this look real it was very clear something was just stuffed up her jumper! To sum up I don't think I would go out of my way to see this film.

Pictures of Lily almost has an idea of what it wants to do. In fact I would go as far to say it's a film made by someone whose seen a lot of films but isn't quite sure why they work as well as they do. It follows two people as they walk around Brighton and just kind of chat about life.

It is shot very well, the cinematography really adds to things and the way they film Brighton does show it off to be a vibrant and alien place with such varieties of cultures.

The acting isn't too bad, while the man can come off as quite boring as he refuses to vocally emote, Lily is played quite well as she seems fun and lively however an issue is they almost question her character but never go far enough to actually make it interesting or dynamic. It is challenging to create a relationship between two people without them knowing who the other really is but sadly that does mean while the dialogue can sometimes be interesting, it gets very repetitive and they seem to do the same thing again and again killing the pace of the film. Clearly it was very focused on keeping the mystery that the dialogue has to be about life statements making the film feel boring.

The writing is confused, I think it's trying to be deep and philosophical but doesn't really work and just comes across as pretentious. The two leads have little chemistry, you never buy that these two get along. Often in film, action determines character, but that's difficult in a film where they do nothing and talk about life. We ultimately know nothing about them (which is intended) but it means they're not interesting enough to stay with. They look awkward and if this is meant to be a love story then this aspect of the movie fails. In a way it's hard to tell if this is a film about love or friendship, the film fails to realise the potential of either and is stuck in this awkward middle ground.

The ending also feels like an insult as two characters out of nowhere just appear and seem to say "If you don't like this film well then you just like big dumb action movies".

Ultimately the film is mediocre, it tried some things which were fairly interesting but just didn't really know where the story was going and wanted to shroud itself in too much mystery that it forgot that mystery is more interesting through eventual reveals, clearly confused and trying to do too little.

The film doesn't really ever try to keep you engaged. I did see a previous version and this one was better compared to the original which was awful, this one was more focused but again wasn't focused enough.

I'm sadly not done...

I'm making it no secret that I posted an original review about the 2013 cut (which has been replaced with this version about the 2015 cut) which gained a response from the director. I won't tell you what he said (out of not wanting to make this anymore tense than it already has become) however I will let you know that some of his points against my review were "I hadn't seen the new version which was way better" and he basically blamed me that if the film didn't do well it was my fault because of my previous review, also what a horrible person I was (not acknowledging that the "rough cut" I saw back in 2013 was shown to an actual audience).

In short, the film is confused and doesn't know what it's trying to go for, in attempts to be deep and meaningful it loses focus and doesn't know where to take these characters. It is well shot and some of the cast do a decent job (the soundtrack also greatly helps the film and does add to the atmosphere), but sadly these can't save it.

This is a very sensitive and deep film for anyone into romance, sex and relationships and how they develop. I loved the star actors, I especially loved the way the man portrayed being an outsider of the Brighton group that the woman belonged to.It was interesting to see the relationship develop between the stranger in town and the clearly very different young woman he met who challenged his beliefs. A very enjoyable film full of originality and different from the usual obvious sort of romances portrayed in films, with the woman being a very strong character and being somewhat of a challenge to the new man in town. The setting in Brighton was perfect and I loved the shots of the sea and birds and sky.