Touches You

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The Dop must be very talented on this with some great shots, as I said filmed very well, the sound was good, the actors did an awesome job with a great story, however I give it 6/10 because this film seemed to have no middle start and end we're good but I found myself looking at my watch half way through, I have seen a lot worse and hats off to anyone getting this far.

A bold feature debut by Writer-Director Deborah Haywood, this film is everything that is great about British cinema (incredible performances, sharp humour, wonderful characterisation in a relatable setting), but avoids many (if not all) of its cliches.At its heart the film tackles the themes of adolescence, bullying, social isolation and mental health without becoming burdened with psychoanalysis. It presents social structures of children and adults in its reality (granted for many this will be an extreme reality) and simply tells the story of two unique characters trying to navigate pitfalls they're tragically unprepared for.With a brutal honesty that never becomes overtly graphic, there are many shocking moments to this story. But herein lies its brilliance. It is not a paint by numbers 'girl tries to fit in before realising her inner beauty and learns to love herself instead'; it is a dark fairytale (though we tend to forget that almost all fairytales are dark), often reminiscent of Fran Walsh & Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures but wonderfully original.Within the film's brilliant cast there are standout performances from the leads Lily Newmark and the wonderful character actor Joanna Scanlan. While they've been gifted two of the years most eccentric and memorable characters, they bring them to life with such authenticity it's hard not to expect them to be receiving awards next year.The highs and minor low for me come in the form of the direction. A brief scene where one of the film's bullies pontificates how their behaviour would improve in a different environment is so understated a lesser director would have had it on the cutting room floor or worse still expanded it into a third-act redemption for the bully, undermining our hero's plight. Instead it is a beautiful moment of reality, of which this film contains many.When Iona and Lyn enter the nearby corner shop there is a sickening blue cast from the lighting, a motif that's not repeated in any other setting and while there could be further meaning to it, it was lost on me and formed a small insignificant distraction. After all, in every other moment in the film colour is used to great effect, particularly in the fantastical vision's Iona uses to escape reality.This film is not going to make you feel better about the world but it certainly isn't going to lecture you about it. It's a disturbingly beautiful fairytale that sadly is set in the real world, but will bring you real moments of joy and innocence along the way. Go see this, it's wonderful.

In some reason I saw it as an entrance for horror festival. It is not horror movie, although there are some similarities with Carrie, Requiem For a Dream or with 13 reason why. Story evolves around socially incapable mother whose only friend are her daughter, some birds and porcelain dolls. Mother and daughter have really close relationship, but as daughter is getting older she's trying to find some friends of her own. Similarity with Carrie? - Daughter is not well accepted by her schoolmates. There is no paranormality. Similarity with Requiem for A Dream? - Lapses of reality and sequences which are mere hallucinations. Similarity with 13 reasons why? - How can one mistake lead to the catastrophe.Great movie, really great.

A story told with poetry and colours, about the love between a mother, her daughter and their efforts to fit-in, at the expense of valuing their own unique identity. A story of mean bullyism and peer pressure which remains cruel and hypocritical at any stage of life. A script that resonates well with our contemporary, conforming society.