Friday, 6 March 2015

"High Tide" (The Guardian 06/03/15)


High Tide **
Dirs: James Gillingham, Jimmy Hay. With: Melanie Walters, Sam Davies, Claire Cage. 93 mins. Cert: 15

This modest Brit indie attempts a small, intimate character drama in wide open spaces: it’s the tale of a Swansea mum (Melanie Walters) who, in the midst of marital difficulties, springs her surly teenage son (Sam Davies) from school for a bonding excursion around the Gower peninsula. Though the change of scenery is welcome, the script resolves this relationship within 45 minutes: the leads all but disappear during a flabbily edited party sequence, before an atrocious twist ending undermines the low-key, unforced naturalism that is the film’s strongest suit. Capably performed, but the emotional punch of last week’s Hinterland is some distance beyond it. 

High Tide opens in selected cinemas from today.

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