The latest film from Lenny Abrahamson is a solid slow boil moral and psychological drama. It treads well-worn ground, exploring the relationship between guilt and entitlement, but does so in a relatively charming way, navigated by Abrahamson’s solid direction and a great central performance from Jack Reynor. However, it’s hard not see this as a variation on a familiar story, one we’ve seen rendered in an American and a British context quite often. Malcolm Campbell’s overly melodramatic script never quite manages to ground to film in a particularly Irish setting, despite the posh Blackrock background and the occasionally recognisable landmark. Even the title change, eschewing the novel’s Bad Day in Blackrock for a more generic What Richard Did seems to try to broaden the scope of the film, losing a lot of the more potentially fascinating avenues that could be explored.
More than his ego is bruised…
Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Abrahamson, Bret Easton Ellis, film, Filmmaking, FirstGroup, jack reynor, Jon Ronson, Lenny Abrahamson, Malcolm Campbell, Michael Fassbender, Movie, non-review review, Patrick McLoughlin, reivew, Richard, Richard Branson, the best irish film of the century, United States, West Coast Main Line, Woody Allen | Leave a comment »
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