A first time British feature that is a deeply eccentric, haunting marvel
If Syd Barrett had ever written and directed a movie, it might well have looked like this: an indie tragicomedy from the dark heart of rural suburbia, by newcomers Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe. Black Pond is funny, dreamily lyrical, armour-plated with eccentric self-confidence and also intensely English. It also, I have to say, has one of the most disturbing dream sequences I have seen for a while. Looking around for recent comparisons, I find myself reaching for Nick Whitfield's Skeletons, or Ben Wheatley's Kill List, possibly Joanna Hogg's Unrelated, or even John Morton's TV mockumentary series People Like Us.
This last reference is, of course, due to the powerful, even sensational presence of Chris Langham, making his first professional appearance since his recent disgrace. He creates a portrait of bourgeois midlife crisis that...
If Syd Barrett had ever written and directed a movie, it might well have looked like this: an indie tragicomedy from the dark heart of rural suburbia, by newcomers Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe. Black Pond is funny, dreamily lyrical, armour-plated with eccentric self-confidence and also intensely English. It also, I have to say, has one of the most disturbing dream sequences I have seen for a while. Looking around for recent comparisons, I find myself reaching for Nick Whitfield's Skeletons, or Ben Wheatley's Kill List, possibly Joanna Hogg's Unrelated, or even John Morton's TV mockumentary series People Like Us.
This last reference is, of course, due to the powerful, even sensational presence of Chris Langham, making his first professional appearance since his recent disgrace. He creates a portrait of bourgeois midlife crisis that...
- 11/11/2011
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
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