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The Low Down (2001)
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Reviews Counted:22
Fresh:15
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Jamie Thraves' debut film about British twenty-somethings effectively captures the nuances of its characters.
Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Apr 20, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: Writer-director Jamie Thraves's feature-film debut follows the day-to-day life of Frank (Aidan Gillen), a single London artist in his late twenties who works as a prop maker along with his quirky... Writer-director Jamie Thraves's feature-film debut follows the day-to-day life of Frank (Aidan Gillen), a single London artist in his late twenties who works as a prop maker along with his quirky friends, Mike (Dean Lennox Kelly) and John (Tobias Menzies). Aware that he needs to jump-start his easygoing life, Frank considers moving out of the flat he shares with his depressed roommate, Terry (Rupert Proctor). While looking for a new place, he meets Ruby (Kate Ashfield), a spritely young real estate agent. As Frank's relationship with Ruby develops, his life, work, and friendships all begin to change. Focusing more on atmosphere than plot, Thraves's excellent first feature is almost documentarylike in its realism but still allows for strikingly artistic flourishes, evoking the work of filmmakers such as John Cassavetes, François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard. Intentionally ambiguous at times, the film remarkably captures the confusion of postgraduate life. Perfectly cast and well acted, THE LOW DOWN is carried by Gillen's quietly engaging performance. Songs by PJ Harvey and the Human League accompany the subtle cinematic score by Nick Currie (aka Momus) and Fred Thomas. [More]
Starring: Aidan Gillen, Kate Ashfield, Dean Lennox Kelly, Tobias Menzies
Starring: Aidan Gillen, Kate Ashfield, Dean Lennox Kelly, Tobias Menzies, Rupert Proctor, Samantha Power, Dena Smiles
Director: Jamie Thraves
Director: Jamie Thraves
Screenwriter: Jamie Thraves
Producer: John Stewart, Sally Llewellyn
Composer: Nick Currie, Fred Thomas
Studio: The Shooting Gallery
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Reviews for The Low Down
Has an aura of honest observation that engages even when almost nothing is happening on-screen.
Thraves lets his story drag as if aimless drama will somehow reflect the aimlessness of his characters' lives. It doesn't; it simply bores.
It does have something to say to those patient enough to stick with it.
Yes, this is another English dramedy about the demands of friendship, but it's in a far more realist key than the posh, slick Hugh Grant films.
Invokes Jean Luc Godard and John Cassavetes as cinematic inspirations, then settles for freeze frames and other directorial tics.
Quirky, smart and subtle, The Low Down has that mint-fresh taste of discovery.
Thraves' first feature is so personal that he seems too close to it to make it very involving.
Like an English episode of Friends with few laughs, no plot and little point.
You remember the small scenes and telling moments; you feel you've been let inside someone else's life.
In reality, you take the highs with the lows because there's no other option, but that mix makes for a fitful, fidgety movie experience.
To say 'nothing happens' is to be blind to everyday life, during which we wage titanic struggles with our programming.
Plays like a North London verite binge, with just enough charm and immediacy to carry it past the slack and meager parts.
By the film's end [Gillen and Ashfield's characters] seem as complicated, and as incomplete, as your own friends.
A slice of London slacker life that avoids condescension and employs an active style in the service of story and characters.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| | Before Tomorrow | 12/2 |
| | Film Ist: A Girl & A Gun | 12/2 |
| | Brothers | 12/4 |
| | Everybody's Fine | 12/4 |
| | Armored | 12/4 |
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