Ben Austwick [Celluloid 08.21.09] movie review drama



Year: 2009
Directors: Joe Lawlor / Christine Molloy
Writers: Christine Molloy / Joe Lawlor
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Ben Austwick
Rating: 6 out of 10

Helen is a British independent film with an understated feel reminiscent of contemporaries such as Better Things. Shot beautifully in a slow-burning style, it tackles serious subject matter in a social realist yet ambiguous way. Ambitious in scope and original in its pacing and storytelling, Helen, unfortunately, still falls victim of its own eagerness and comes in a little short of being the film it wants to be.

The film starts by slowly setting up the story of a young girl, Joy, who has gone missing while walking through a city park. The police want to make a reconstruction of her journey in the hope of jogging members of the public’s memories. They recruit Helen, a girl from the same college Joy attended, as a suitable stand-in; but Helen is troubled, with issues of her own, and finds herself in a strange relationship with Joy’s grieving family.


There is no doubt though that it is beautifully filmed. The first scene sets the mood and tone of the film perfectly as the camera tracks the missing girl across an autumnal park and segues expertly into a static shot of the later police search. The identically-uniformed police move slowly in formation across the screen in a simple but effective visual rhythm that becomes the film’s defining style. These rhythms are placed in slow tracking or still shots that linger on their subject matter and serve to focus attention. Couple this with naturalistic dialogue more suited to a stage play and the result is a glacial feel and atmosphere that slowly sucks you in.

Conversely, an intriguing, sharply-paced story and one hour fifteen minute running time make this a compact, fast-moving film that covers a lot of ground in a short space of time. This brave approach has mixed results. At first “Helen” is intriguing and exciting, but unfortunately an imperceptible shift occurs at around the half-way mark and the film begins to feel rushed. The story becomes a bit too far-fetched in places, though it is rescued somewhat by a refusal to tie things up too neatly. The short running time and slow pace leave little room for character development, and the one-dimensional performances that result slowly lift any believability. This is compounded by giving Helen a series of deadpan monologues that are unnatural sounding and too obviously scripted.

These wouldn’t be important points in another film, but as “Helen” strives for a naturalistic feel and demands empathy with its disturbed central character they are an oversight that seriously undermines its effectiveness. It ultimately feels shallow and inconsequential. It’s in no way a bad film but doesn’t stand out from other recent British independent releases, coming across as another extended short arthouse film, an exercise in film making, rather than an accomplished whole. There are positives here, not least in the art direction, but they aren’t enough to lift “Helen” out of mediocrity.

quietearth (2 years ago) Reply

I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would give it a 7.5 out of 10. Hypnotic, indeed.

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