Box Cutta
Bumbling Sidekick
7/10 (4/5 on Netflix because it deserves more than a 3)
Pretty good drama centering around two illegal immigrants in England trying to overcome poverty and the societal ills that poverty inflicts upon them. Since it's mostly centered on character work and acting, I'll mostly just focus on the performances.
Chewitel Ejiofor is as great as he usually is. From what I've seen from him in the past (And, looking over his filmography, I've actually seen quite a bit of his work), he tends to have that great balance of quiet reservation that only gives way to intensity and passion when it's deemed absolutely necessary. He balances that will here.
Audrey Tautou unfortunately might be the weak point here, and that's rare, because she's usually so damn compelling. I think that the combination of not only having to act in English, but acting in English, as a Turkish immigrant with a Turkish accent...might have been too much of a stretch for her at this point in her career. She's the least convincing here, and some of that is on the writing. She's portrayed as mousy, religious, and self-conscious...but she also is the one that pursues the romance, and seems to be the bigger dreamer of the two. I dunno, maybe that was "the point", but I found it kind of messy.
Serge Lopez was about as scary of a villain as you can have in Pan's Labyrinth. Here, he channels that wickedness into something more sleazy, but he's nearly just as convincing as a shady hotel owner/organ peddler.
Sophie Okonedo gets the least amount to do, as she's playing a hotel whore with not much screen time...but her few short moments are surprisingly impactful and she tends to steal every scene that she's in.
Overall though...a very nice drama, with a surprisingly schlocky yet unique story , and some intriguing characters.
this is what ive been missing lol
and is suggested to be with the blonde. I thought that was a little awkward.