First Take: Scrapper - Screen Unseen was built for films like this

SYNOPSIS: Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality.

Last night Odeon, Cineworld and The Light all put on another one of those iconic mystery screenings - and while many were expecting DC’s new film (which opens on Friday), the mighty Screen Unseen went back to its roots with an independent film, executive produced by none other than Michael Fassbender, that probably won’t get a lot of attention when it comes out on August 25th.

This is the directorial debut for Charlotte Regan - with has 200 low budget music videos and a few shorts to her name at the age of 29, BBC Films identified her as a director to watch by giving her BFI funding to make this film, and it shows: writing and directing a kitchen sink drama/comedy that feels distinctly of its time is not easy, and doing it in 1 hour 24 minutes… that is even harder to pull off. On a comedy level, it passes the 6 laugh test, and on a drama level, the writing feels pretty authentic for what it is depicting. Behind the camera is Molly Manning Walker (who will make her directorial debut next year with a Film4-backed film) who kills it on cinematography duties, and the score is handled by Patrick Jonsson. On a technical level it has all the hallmarks of a British indie production, which traditionally would’ve turned off a Screen Unseen audience… but not at Preston. Zero walkouts.

Onto the performances, and it is arguably these two who kept screen 4 firmly in their seats - Lola Campbell and Alin Uzun - as they arguably carry this film on their shoulders, and in Campbell’s case, the power of this role lies in her performance. Subtle, nuanced, and perfectly formed, I can sense big things in her future. Supporting these two young leads is Harris Dickinson, and between the three of them, they tell this story with heart and conviction - it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and it deals with some heavy topics, but once again BBC Films have backed another filmmaker and cast who will go on to do bigger and better things over the next few years.

THE VERDICT

Scrapper is a unique film that deals with some heavy themes in a way that feels distinctly independent - it’s a shame it won’t have much of a cinema run, but with the state of play with *the strike*, audiences need to start preparing for cinemas to play more homegrown stuff like this if the studios pull the trigger on delays over the next few months.

RATING: 4.5/5

Scrapper opens in limited UK cinemas on August 25th.