378. Two For Joy; movie review

TWO FOR JOY
Cert 15
90 mins

BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong threat

Bereavement, domestic abuse, tragedy and depression - Two For Joy's makers clearly believed in irony when deciding upon their film title.
Tom Beard's commentary on broken Britain is anything but joyful.
However, nobody could argue against the quality of the performances both by its big names - Samantha Morton, Billie Piper and Daniel Mays - and its youngsters - Emilia Jones, Bella Ramsey and Badger Skelton.
Morton plays a mother whose depression following the loss of her husband is so acute that she stays in bed most of the day.
That leaves her daughter (Jones) to study for her GCSEs while acting as her carer and trying to bring up her uncooperative brother (Skelton).
The misery of home is unrelenting with never a smile to share between the mother, who literally howls in emotional pain, a daughter who is in despair over her losing her youth and a son who is following the wrong path.

Therefore, in an attempt to realign them, the mother agrees to a trip to their holiday home on the Dorset coast where they find another mum (Piper) and daughter (Ramsey) suffering a similar level of anguish.
It is interesting that the locations in Dorset, which is usually associated with beauty, are so run-down and that its chracters are a combination of hopeless and angry.
This is a slice of Britain which is far too real and backdrops similar to those in Two For Joy are too regularly witnesses to tragedy.
I find movies of this nature quite difficult because I look to cinema for escapism or information not necessarily to hurl me back into a dark world on which I reported for much of my newspaper career.
However, there are notable exceptions such as Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake and Paddy Considine's Tyronnosaur which explore the arena with such precision and vigour.
I suspect that Beard was hoping to create a movie of similar power but I am afraid he comes up short because his characters needed greater exploration and a clearer backstory.
Instead, although the performances are of high quality, the shock value was diluted.

Reasons to watch: Fine performance from an excellent cast
Reasons to avoid: It is relentless in its misery

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Director quote - Tom Beard: "The talent and maturity of our young cast in response to a very emotional and intense script has been incredible. Watching them bring my characters to life has been truly moving.”

The big question - Is society ever going to emerge from this cycle of despair?

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