The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael

Echoing the theme and brutality of films such as Irréversible, A Clockwork Orange and Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 26-year-old director Thomas Clay’s first feature is a jaw-dropping debut. In a small British fishing town, the quiet outsider Robert hangs out with his thug friends, doing drugs and not much else. Meanwhile, Iraq has just been invaded and on the news Blair and Rumsfeld are making their speeches to justify the violence.If war is a monster, Robert has a war growing inside of him, although not one of politics but of sexual aggression. A girl (in school)’s comment about Robert having rapist’s eyes turns out to be more accurate than one would first believe and the (film’s) climax is so merciless that it is nearly unbearable to watch.Brilliantly shot with long takes, the camera slowly moves around, constantly revealing new details of what goes on. The simultaneous levels of action in the scenes add to an already present sense of realism and the camera – almost always at a distance from the action – not only makes sure that the viewer won’t submerge into the violent acts of the characters, but also mark the characters’ alienation from themselves.JONATHAN ROZENKRANTZ

Premiärstatus
Nordisk premiär: Medverkande
Rob Dixon, Danny Dyer, Michael Howe: Producent
Joseph Lang: Manus
Thomas Clay & Joseph Lang: Foto
Yorgos Arvanitis: Musik
Edward Elgar & Jonathan Henry Harvey: Talat språk
English