It was, admittedly, a late one last night, but it was certainly worth it to walk the red carpet at the premiere of new British drama The Scouting Book For Boys. And the film itself proved to be the very essence of what the London Film Festival is all about; a small-budget, homegrown movie receiving its first public showing in the best possible forum and turning out to be an absolute gem in the process.

The Scouting Book For Boys

Set on a caravan park on the windswept Norfolk cost, the film focuses on the obsessively close friendship between youngsters Emily (Holliday Grainger) and David (Thomas Turgoose). When he finds out that Emily is being forced to leave to live with her dad, David helps her run away to a secluded cave on the shore. At first he enjoys their seclusion, but as she begins to reveal her deepest secrets, David finds himself questioning her loyalty and is pushed into taking action that will change their lives forever.

Challenging expectations from the outset, The Scouting Book For Boys may make one think of the honourable pursuits handbook by Robert Baden-Powell (which makes a fleeting appearance in the film) but it certainly does not provide the blueprint for the narrative. Instead, by setting the film within the self-contained world of the caravan park, writer Jack Thorne provides a compelling study on the characters than dwell therein, as seen through Emily and David’s young eyes.

And it’s these youngsters who are the key to the film; that they have found themselves thrown together is unsurprising given their pretty meagre lot in life (alcoholic, absentee parents being the least of their worries), but this kinship is catalyst for a series of increasingly shocking events. True the adults around them may not be so deeply developed – Rafe Spall as an older camp guard who turns Emily’s head, Steven Mackintosh as a copper more concerned with forging his career than solving the case – but they are intentionally bit players in this dark drama, as they are in these kid’s lives.

Everyone involved is excellent. Turgoose and Grainger are both perfect in their roles, demonstrating a mix of vulnerability and waning innocence as they stand on the cusp of adulthood, with a believable chemistry that fuels the narrative, while Mackintosh, Spall and Susan Lynch provide sterling support. Young director Tom Harper does absolute justice to Thorne’s exemplary script, capturing the childlike energy and spirit and the darker, shadowy aspects of the plot with a naturalistic, low-key style that befits a story that’s small in scale but big in ideas. And by the time the film reaches its jaw-dropping denouement, you’ll want to watch it all over again. (5 stars)

Despite last night’s festivities it was up bright and early this morning for a screening of Atom Egoyan’s (Where the Truth Lies) Chloe. Based on Anne Fontaine’s 2003 French drama Nathalie, the film is an erotic thriller with a mouthwatering cast made up of Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and the definitely up and coming Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Jennifer’s Body). Whether it was our lack of morning coffee or it was just too early for such explicitness, however, Chloe proved to be rather disappointing.

Chloe

When doctor Catherine (Moore) becomes convinced her university professor husband David (Neeson) is cheating, she decides not to confront him but to hire young escort Chloe (Seyfried) to seduce David to see if he really will stray. As Catherine has increasingly regular meetings with Chloe, who discusses her indiscretions with David in intimate detail, the two women begin to develop a bond that will have explosive repercussions.

Julianne Moore is a hugely talented actress with a broad range, yet her recent choices of overtly sexual roles which require her to disrobe, such as 2007’s Savage Grace, may suggest that as she approaches 50 she has something to prove. Of course she doesn’t, and her portrayal of the increasingly distraught Catherine is as solid as ever. Seyfried, too, is great – insofar as her character will allow – all wide-eyed vulnerability and innocent charm hiding intentions that are clearly more than dubious.

It’s just a shame that the film soon descends into melodrama, moving quickly into the realms of the ridiculous as Catherine becomes more deeply involved with Chloe and coming to an abrupt and entirely stupid pat ending that seems connected to an entirely different film. And there are many moments throughout that would undoubtedly be described by those involved as ‘essential to the story’ but to the untrained viewer may come across as uncomfortably voyeuristic, perhaps even exploitative,  designed to titillate rather than to move the plot forwards.

The strength of the cast, though, is Chloe’s saviour, lifting the film above the realms of soft porn and making it far more entertaining than it would have been without them.  There is undoubtedly a decent thriller buried somewhere here but, frustratingly, it plays as glossy, silly sexual thriller that just can’t match the individual talents of those involved. (2 stars)