The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMovie reviews

Brakes

Brakes | Movie review
20 November 2017
Euan Franklin
Avatar
Euan Franklin
20 November 2017

Movie and show review

Euan Franklin

Brakes

★★★★★

Release date

24th November 2017

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

In the directorial debut from actor Mercedes Grower, Brakes tells a collection of weird and funny stories of conflicted relationships in the London area.

We are given snippets of nine relationships, ranging from the hilarious to the horrible. It’s never certain what tone the next story will take. We could be safely laughing along at a bicurious man rejecting his gay friend’s affections after a raunchy experience in Barcelona, then have our hearts ripped out as we’re dropped into a loveless marriage. In true Godardian fashion, the second half flashes back to when the couples are happy, often when they first meet each other.

Each tale has a tiny amount of time, but they’re all carefully constructed – feeling like a short story compendium. The performances are vivid and memorable, demonstrating the range of talent sprinkled across the movie – including an appearance from surreal comedian Noel Fielding, who proves to be a reasonably good dramatic actor (despite not appearing entirely comfortable in the role).

Grower employs a shaky, cinema-verité style recalling the Nouvelle Vague filmmakers of the early 60s and the Danish Dogme 95 directors in the 90s, fighting against filmic traditions. So there is an intelligence behind the badly sewn appearance, which is fun to watch considering Britain’s social realistic aversions to such Brechtian devices in cinema. But the era of being impressed by amateurs (with storytelling talents) is over, regrettably replaced by YouTube. In our digitally democratic times, the cheap, freeform approach is written off as the unschooled indulgence of a creative teenager. Film scholars and art students will know exactly what Grower is going for, but nobody else will.

Brakes is admirable in its ambition, but the motivations behind the style are unclear (beyond the lack of budget) – falling into the same gimmicky holes as many student films. It’s a deluded attempt to rekindle the rebellion against the academic Tradition of Quality, leading to a future that doesn’t reach beyond the internet and film school lecture halls. But the writing and the performances are excellent, pulling the viewer deep into the characters’ individual worlds.

★★★★★

Euan Franklin

Brakes is released nationwide on 24th November 2017.

Watch the trailer for Brakes here:

Related Itemsreview

More in Movie reviews

Minions: The Rise of Gru

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Nitram

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

The Princess

★★★★★
Umar Ali
Read More

We (Nous)

★★★★★
Jake Cudsi
Read More

Tigers

★★★★★
Guy Lambert
Read More

Theo and the Metamorphosis

★★★★★
Oliver Johnston
Read More

The Big Hit

★★★★★
Andrew Murray
Read More

Moon, 66 Questions

★★★★★
Joseph Owen
Read More

The Lost Girls

★★★★★
Mae Trumata
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Movie and show review

Euan Franklin

Brakes

★★★★★

Release date

24th November 2017

Certificate

UPG121518 title=

Links

TwitterFacebookWebsite

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
  • Tigers
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Terminal List
    ★★★★★
    amazon
  • Baymax!
    ★★★★★
    disney
  • Parisian bar Little Red Door to take over Adam Handling’s Eve Bar on 7 July
    Food & Drinks
  • Netflix Walking Tour
    ★★★★★
    Cinema & Tv
  • Chelsea Flower Show 2022: Greenery and wellbeing
    Fashion & Lifestyle
  • Netflix Walking Tour
    ★★★★★
    Cinema & Tv
  • Africa Fashion at the V&A
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • “He used to spit at the audience, roll on the ground, he did, in fact, hump that plastic dog – he was the original punk rocker”: Baz Luhrman, Tom Hanks, Austin Butler, Olivia DeJonge and Alton Mason on Elvis
    Cinema & Tv
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Chamberlain’s in the City | Restaurant review
Lost in Paris | Movie review