New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Evening Standard rating
Reader rating
Getting its London premiere tonight at Raindance, London’s “alternative” film festival, Matthew Thompson’s debut feature has a lot more going for it than its unfortunate title.
The story of two teenage brothers who lose their single-parent mother to an overdose, Thompson’s film has distant echoes of Ian McEwan’s The Cement Garden but is all his own when it comes to the sensual, brooding atmosphere. The older boy, Danny (Aaron Johnson, very good), buries his grief in drugs and sex. The younger, Jack (Thomas Grant, phenomenal) goes into denial, bringing his mother a breakfast tray each morning, dressing up a dummy (hence the title) in her clothes and putting it in her bed.
But what makes the film so good is that Thompson never allows this obsessive behaviour to tip over into the Gothic. The script just about convinces as to why social services leave the boys alone; but once you accept that, the film’s treatment of their summer alone together is entirely convincing. So, too, is the surprise ending, which reveals Jack’s strength and the extent to which Danny has repressed his emotions.
The winner of the BBC’s New Film-maker’s Award in 2003 with his short film, Gone, Thompson reveals himself to be a film-maker of promise.
Raindance runs until Sunday. Information: www.raindance.co.uk.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Tonight:
9°c
