A middle-aged couple leave for work only to have their home broken into by 16 year old scally Shaun. Shaun stays in the house until the couple returns home, then holds them hostage with a kitchen knife. The couple are terrified and tied up at first but gradually they work out that all Shaun wants is a home and a family that he has never had before. The couple are forced to pander to him, giving him a birthday party and cake, all the time aware that he could snap at anytime.
From the start of this film we are given a very tense mood as Shaun holds all the cards and appear to be mentally unhinged, forcing people to pretend to be a family that he never had. For most of the film we are kept on edge by this because we never know when Shaun is about to lose it or not. The film makes us think that we have it all sorted out in our heads but yet the film doesn't just allow us to rest on our laurels in this regard. I though the story was obvious a disturbed young man is needy and desperate for a family he never had but doesn't know how to go about getting it. This in itself is interesting and well delivered but it is only made better by the gradual twist delivered towards the end.
In this twist we see that neediness and denial is not the reserve of the disenfranchised or the mentally disturbed. The twist is well delivered because we start to suspect it, then we start to see it and then it is totally revealed. Sarah's hurt and desperation is evident and is actually quite impacting. This dramatic twist is satisfying because it is part of the film not the conclusion of it in the way many films will use the twist as a final shot at the audience. The acting is very good throughout. At times I thought Hope and Nichols played their characters a bit too natural and relaxed but the twist explains why they did this and it was actually well judged.
Overall this is a very good film that is well worth hunting down. Even though, by reading this review, you know roughly where the film will be going it is still impacting enough to make for repeat viewing the twist is not the all so it stands up to repeat viewings.
From the start of this film we are given a very tense mood as Shaun holds all the cards and appear to be mentally unhinged, forcing people to pretend to be a family that he never had. For most of the film we are kept on edge by this because we never know when Shaun is about to lose it or not. The film makes us think that we have it all sorted out in our heads but yet the film doesn't just allow us to rest on our laurels in this regard. I though the story was obvious a disturbed young man is needy and desperate for a family he never had but doesn't know how to go about getting it. This in itself is interesting and well delivered but it is only made better by the gradual twist delivered towards the end.
In this twist we see that neediness and denial is not the reserve of the disenfranchised or the mentally disturbed. The twist is well delivered because we start to suspect it, then we start to see it and then it is totally revealed. Sarah's hurt and desperation is evident and is actually quite impacting. This dramatic twist is satisfying because it is part of the film not the conclusion of it in the way many films will use the twist as a final shot at the audience. The acting is very good throughout. At times I thought Hope and Nichols played their characters a bit too natural and relaxed but the twist explains why they did this and it was actually well judged.
Overall this is a very good film that is well worth hunting down. Even though, by reading this review, you know roughly where the film will be going it is still impacting enough to make for repeat viewing the twist is not the all so it stands up to repeat viewings.