315. Back Roads; movie review

BACK ROADS
Cert 18
101 mins

BBFC advice: Child sexual abuse theme

It should sicken every right-minded person to think of the number of children who live in fear of physical or sexual abuse.
In many cases, the scars, both visible and invisible, never fully heal.
This is the very difficult subject matter which is tackled in Alex Pettyfer's directorial debut - Back Roads.
Pettyfer is also the lead in the film, playing twentysomething Harley who is left to bring up young sisters after their mother (Juliette Lewis) is jailed for killing their father.

This is no easy job - particularly when he tries to keep the sexually promiscuous 16-year-old (Nicola Peltz) on a tight leash.

The more the movie progresses the more obvious it becomes that the young people are damaged and have a warped view of sex and relationships.

And when Harley begins an intense affair with a married neighbour (Jennifer Morrison), long-held secrets begin to spill out.

Pettyfer is compelling as Harley, albeit that he looks much older than the character (largely because he is in real life).

This is also a memorable start as a director - his backdrop of down-at-heel America is credible as is his story development.

Peltz, Chiara Aurelia and Hala Finley are convincing as girls who are either damaged by their mother's absence or something much more sinister.

And Pettyfer keeps the audience guessing over what has happened, bringing us to an ending which is well executed.

Back Roads isn't perfect but it gave me a thirst me more of his work, off-screen as well as on it.

Reasons to watch: Tense and tough family drama
Reasons to avoid: Takes too long to warm up

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? An estimated 678,000 American children were victims of abuse and neglect in 2018, the most recent year for which there is national data. That's about 1% of the child population.

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