Its tight focus, formally and thematically, on the self-consciously clueless Frank, makes it fascinating.
The Low Down (2001)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:51
Fresh:30
Rotten:21
Average Rating:5.6/10
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
Detailed performances from the two accomplished leads keep things relatively interesting.
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.
If you want to get in on the ground floor of Aidan Gillen's certain-to-be-skyrocketing career, it's a good place to start.
Thanks to Thraves' gritty style, and the characters' winning naturalism, you won't shout at the screen for all of them to just grow up.
Captures the latent anxieties of a hazy, ambling existence with pinpoint accuracy.
It's a rare film that contains this much good material, all of it incidental.
A cinematic slice of life cut far too thin to provide any intellectual or emotional nourishment.
So darn down-to-earth you'll feel you're eavesdropping on private conversations.
A smart and original character study that presents real truths the viewer can recognize.
As ambulatory as its central hero but does, strangely, stick in the memory.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 68% 68% | The Last Station | 12/23 |
| 68% 68% | Sherlock Holmes | 12/25 |
| 50% 50% | It's Complicated | 12/25 |
| 49% 49% | Nine | 12/25 |
| 18% 18% | Alvin and the Chipmunk… | 12/25 |
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