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Brighton Belles these girls ain’t
LONDON TO BRIGHTON
Directed by Paul Andrew Williams
Certificate 18
LONDON To Brighton is a dirty urban thriller which manages to avoid the usual cliches gangster movies fall into.
There is definitely no glamour in the depiction of London’s underworld. While Cockney mob flicks normally run along the Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels-premise, where the mobsters wear sharp suits and have lifestyles most envy, London To Brighton only makes you shiver with the cruel brutality of a world you would want nothing to do with.
There is not a high-roller nor moll in sight. Instead we have a tale about the amoral nature of a London criminal fraternity, and a story of humans abusing each other for their own greed.
Prostitute Kelly (Lorraine Stanley) is called by her pimp Derek (Johnny Harris) – and told he needs help to fulfil a distasteful job for a man who, for reasons that are not immediately clear, if you are asked to do something for, you don’t ask questions. If they can’t do what he asks – which is to find a prepubescent girl for him to have sex with – the outcome will be seriously painful for the pair of them.
Kelly trawls the embankment and the mainline railway stations for a runaway who could do with the money. She finds Joanne (Georgia Groome) who at first appears streetwise – but it very quickly becomes clear this is not the case.
Using a split chronology, the viewer is aware from the opening scene that something has gone wrong, but what exactly only becomes clear as the film rolls on.
Director Paul Williams uses clever juxtapositions of scenery to show the fine line between innocence and guilt. In one scene, Kelly is helping her young friend play in an arcade, attempting to win a teddy bear: meanwhile, we see her pimp and his side-kick driving to Brighton, armed with a shotgun, to bring them back to answer for their actions. Other conflicting images images make the situation of the street prostitute seem more unpleasant.
It is gruesome in places without over-egging it, fast- paced and keep you guessing – everything a film should be.
Lorraine Stanley puts in an outstanding performance as Kelly, and she is ably backed by her co-star Georgia Groome.
The supporting cast are also terrific, down playing their roles, adding realism and therefore horror to the unfolding drama.
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