London to Brighton

CONTAINS SPOILERS

It's the early hours of the morning and a 12 year old girl called Joanne played by an amazing Georgia Groome and a jaded prostitute Kelly, an understated Loraine Stanley are huddling together in a London toilet, Kelly's face look like it has been put through a compactor and Joanne's clothes are ripped and torn. Told in flash backs mainly from the points of view of Kelly and Joanne, the plot follows a trail that leads back to a scene of carnage where both child and prostitute have played a part in the brutal stabbing of a man.

But this is no ordinary man who has been stabbed, (who would have thought that Golly from Monarch of the Glen could play such a gross character so well!) for starters he has a liking for little girls, he also has a son Stuart, played with delicious violence by Sam Spruell who is a violent gangster and who wants some answers and he wants them now so the Kelly and Joanne are on the run but they have no real idea what they can do to ensure their safety so they leg it to Brighton and in doing so forge a relationship that will bind them together through the most terrible of times that have yet to come.

Hunted down by Kelly's psychotic and cowardly pimp Derek on behalf of Stuart, you know it is only a matter of time before Kelly and Joanne are captured, stuffed in the boot of a car and made to come face to face with Stuart in a remote field were Derek and his friend are made to dig a grave which at first we all think is for Joanne and Kelly.
What happens next is as shocking as it is exhilarating and it is well worth seeing just for the end ten minutes of the movie.

With a cracking soundtrack,London to Brighton a small budget, and lots of good acting from everyone, along with a lot bad language, hard hitting violence and lashings of blood, London to Brighton is quite simply a gem of a movie that gives one hell of a sting in the tale and a surprisingly feel good ending that is not so unbelievable as you'd think.

This is one Brit-Flick that packs one hell of a wallop and it stands up there with the likes of Gypo, aThis is Englandand of course the much under-rated Goodbye Charlie Bright [Region 2].

It is too bad that unknown films like this take years to make it over the pond. An obvious low budget character film, but everyone involved gave some convincing and sad performances. This story follows two days in the life of a prostitute and an underage girl as things fall apart after a bad client visit. The time line flashes back and forth between the event itself, the brief time before, and then the present day/time as the girls flee from London to Brighton. Obviously something bad has happened (we do not see all of it until near the end) and the affected mob family wants to locate the two girls and exact their revenge. The ending is brutal, but in a way that does not make you want to throw the disc in the garbage.

The supplements are lengthy and include:
* 8 minute making of, very logistical, non-narrated
* 24 minute Q&A session of the crew at a panel-like setting/screening
* 3.5 minute audition recording for one of the ladies
* 8.5 minutes of deleted scenes, extremely low quality, not worthy
* 1 minute alternate ending, would have been way too heartless to leave in
* 1 minute of outtakes - not even watchable, skip it

Not for the light hearted rental evening, but worth your time.

Life on the streets can be rough, just ask anyone who lives there. But there are decent people struggling to stay decent on the streets. This film is a strong depiction of the battle to remain human in the face of desperation and exploitation. Kelly (Lorraine Stanley) is a prostitute forced by her pimp to find a girl for a special client. Eleven year old Joanne is a runaway who falls into her path. A realistic depiction of a seedy underbelly of British Society, with strong acting and a strong script. Disturbing and gripping. Not one for the faint hearted.