/hm6xZId1klEYLXYZSQl8T2cz413.jpg
Drama

Girl

-

A young mother is forced to face the truth of her past life as her daughter approaches adolescence and strives for new freedom.

Release Date : 2023-11-17

Language :EnglishFrench

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Great Point MediaBarry CrerarScreen ScotlandBBC FilmBFIStudio Soho

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Déborah Lukumuena

Character Name : Grace

Original Name : Déborah Lukumuena

Gender : Female

Danny Sapani

Character Name : Samuel

Original Name : Danny Sapani

Gender : Male

Le'Shantey Bonsu

Character Name : Ama

Original Name : Le'Shantey Bonsu

Gender : Male

Liana Turner

Character Name : Fiona

Original Name : Liana Turner

Gender : Male

Ayesha Antoine

Character Name : Lisa

Original Name : Ayesha Antoine

Gender : Male

Caroline Deyga

Character Name : Mhairi

Original Name : Caroline Deyga

Gender : Female

Lael Tamakloe

Character Name : Grace, young

Original Name : Lael Tamakloe

Gender : Male

Jenni Keenan-Green

Character Name : Ms. Seample

Original Name : Jenni Keenan-Green

Gender : Male

Owen Whitelaw

Character Name : Ian

Original Name : Owen Whitelaw

Gender : Male

Mark Cox

Character Name : Alan

Original Name : Mark Cox

Gender : Male

Andrew John Tait

Character Name : Man in Arcade

Original Name : Andrew John Tait

Gender : Male

Joanne Gallagher

Character Name : Police Officer

Original Name : Joanne Gallagher

Gender : Male

Firas Ibrahim

Character Name : Tenant

Original Name : Firas Ibrahim

Gender : Male

Kai Bruce

Character Name : Joe

Original Name : Kai Bruce

Gender : Male

Paul Ellard

Character Name : Homeless Father

Original Name : Paul Ellard

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-10-19

Though the narrative is a little too undercooked here, this film does present us with two characterful performances from Déborah Lukumuena and Le'Shantey Bonsu. The former is "Grace" - a woman who lives in a rundown Glasgow high-rise with her daughter "Ama". Their's is a loving relationship tinged with a little maternal paranoia. "Grace" is forced to work as a cleaner at night and the girl is largely forbidden from leaving the flat - for her own safety - and that, naturally, attracts the attention of the social workers and the school teachers who are concerned for their wellbeing. Things are not helped by a decision to rehouse the family as the demolition men are soon to head to their tower block. When "Ama" befriends a neighbour from her school "Fiona" (a nice effort from Liana Turner), the couple's relationship starts to become severely tested and the two women face the first serious change to the established dynamic of their inter-dependency. The performances do go some way to making this film work, but the absence of context makes it difficult to engage with the story. We don't really know anything about the past that drove them to Scotland. Clearly there has been trauma for "Grace", but again - we know very little about what created that trouble. The direction is also very lethargic. Far too many tracking shots, walking to and fro, almost like director Adura Onashile was paddling out a short story into almost ninety minutes. I also found it to be rather over-scored. The paucity of dialogue does work at times, but the sense of loneliness and fear that generates is all to frequently overpowered by the music. It's an interesting story that is probably illustrative of many families relocated to a strange environment, but I just needed more substance and less meandering images for that to resonate better.