EIFF2008: Trouble Sleeping
A film from Theatre Workshop, this new Scottish movie (set predominantly in Edinburgh) shows the trials and tribulations of a community of asylum seekers in Edinburgh while serving up a story about what happens when buried secrets come to light.
I applaud the film for what it's attempting to do and it is competantly made. There are plenty of flaws however - it feels disjointed and abrupt in places, as if lots of it has ended up on the cutting room floor (which might well be the case, but alas I had to rush off before the Q&A so never found out). Only a few of the cast really stand out, with many looking very much like this is the first time they've been in front of a camera.
I applaud the film for what it's attempting to do and it is competantly made. There are plenty of flaws however - it feels disjointed and abrupt in places, as if lots of it has ended up on the cutting room floor (which might well be the case, but alas I had to rush off before the Q&A so never found out). Only a few of the cast really stand out, with many looking very much like this is the first time they've been in front of a camera.
There are too many issues here to address in one film (a gay muslim marrying a disabled man - how many issues do you want to address in one go?) but to the film's credit they're all handled fairly and regardless of its flaws the film is surely destined to open the eyes of a few people regarding the plight of many of Scotland's minorites.
Labels: Edinburgh Film Festival, Film festivals, scottish film
posted by Alan at 7:17 pm
2 Comments:
Good script but let down by some truly terrible editing. However, the shock of the night was seeing the director, Robert Rae, pitch himself, in the credits, as the lead writer. What an exploitation of the real lead writer, Ghazi Hussein! This is typical, imho, of how local people exploit the migrant community, who, unfamiliar with the half truths and one upmanship that plague the British film industry, seem powerless to avoid being used in this shameless way.
Interesting view - I obviously can't comment on issues over who wrote what, but I agree that the ending was not great.
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