THIS clunky and clichéd but not altogether charmless debut coming-of-age film from director Chris Foggin centres on a young man named Jack (Will Poulter) who has plans to take a gap year and go travelling with his childhood best friend Tom (Jamie Blackley) before settling into a law firm job organised by his father.
But after a chance encounter with the beautiful and enigmatic young Evelyn (Alma Jodorowsky), he changes his plans and chooses to spend every minute he can with her and her eclectic friends who are all living a bohemian London lifestyle.
There’s an earnestness to the film that lends it a certain kind of wide-eyed charm, even if it doesn’t come together as you’d hope.
It uses the relatable everyman template as a means for us to experience this, taking us on a journey through the eyes of a naive young man who doesn’t quite know what he wants but knows that he wants it nonetheless.
But for all its preaching about enjoying life, embracing the unknown and going with the flow of youthful spiritedness, it never reaches anywhere near the kind of weighty profoundness found in other, far better stories about transition to adulthood. It sometimes feels like one of those twee stripped down covers of a great song you often get in supermarket Christmas adverts.
Wandering through a threadbare plot that’s lit with a hazy, soft focus cinematography that merely adds to its dramatic weightlessness, the characters are all half-baked stereotypes – from Poulter’s doe-eyed Jack to Cara Delevingne’s free-spirited Viola – and are never given any sort of real depth to make what they’re saying convincing.
There’s no doubting the sincerity, besotted as the film is with the idea of youth, engaging with newfound friends and wanting to be your own person, no matter the consequences. But sincerity is only half the battle with a coming-of-age tale; beyond that this is frustratingly lightweight and forgettable.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here