New Town Original
Among the wide variety of British nobudgeters, “New Town Original” is unique for its newness, strong technique and performances that are genuinely likable. The film is a low-key portrayal of a young office worker who has an abrupt change in his life because of one passionate moment; it confidently avoids the typical cliches about urban grunge, slacker youth or casual violence on the way to an unexpected twist and satisfyingly hopeful ending. Writer-director Jason Ford’s first movie had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it release in Blighty on April 15 but could find wider audiences in festival sidebars, where non-British viewers may give it a fairer shake.
Mick Jones (played by newcomer Elliott Jordan), an accounts clerk in his early 20s, wants to be “a doer, not a talker,” but he hasn’t got a clue how to start. Stuck in a dull job, Mick hangs out at the local leisure center with his mates Johnno (Nathan Thomas), Ozzy (Richard Gooch) and flashy Bal (Kal Aise), and dreams about getting laid.
Living alone in an undistinguished rented house, Mick thinks he might be going slowly mad; Johnno tells him he’s being melodramatic. In a scene early on that sums up the pic’s (and hero’s) ironic confusion, Mick visits his family doctor who doesn’t even remember him and thoughtlessly prescribes Prozac.
During a routine drinking sash with his pals at which nothing happens except one beer too many gets sunk, Mick’s horizons suddenly change when he attracts the attention of Nicki (Katharine Peachey), former g.f. of local psycho hard-case Si Naylor (Paul McNeilly). One thing leads to another although Mick had reservations about getting involved with her.
Johnno is very envious of Mick’s scoring but also scared to death of Si’s uncontrollable temper, and advises Mick to keep a low profile. But as Mick becomes more and more paranoid, events take unexpected turns.
Like the underappreciated Brit slacker pic “The Low Down” (2000), “New Town Original” is driven more by its state of mind than its admittedly slim plot. (There are also whiffs of cult TV series “The Office” in its low-volume humor and apparent naturalness.)
Without boring ads, the film accurately evokes the sterile lifestyle of Britain’s ’60s “new towns” in this case Basildon, Essex, an endless butt in English popular culture for jokes about dim working-class types and easy women. (Made by three young filmmaker friends Helmer Ford and producers Terry Bird and Jamie Palmer from Essex, east of London; they distributed it themselves.)
Ford delivers a precise visual package that eschews handheld meanderings or aimless talk in favor of old-fashioned virtues such as composition, editing and tightly scripted perfs. The lurking threat of violence is also more shown with a glance than actualized on camera, which looks away when unpleasantness raises its head.
Perfs are subtle, with Jordan (a slightly younger Orlando Bloom) displaying an emerging talent for deadpan humor; Peachey is excellent as a girl who knows what she wants. The duo’s first date is observed nicely through body language and dialogue that feel absolutely right.
Other roles are filled agreeably by Thomas as envious Johnno; Laura Pennycard as Nicki’s offhand gal-pal; Lynn Verral as Mick’s caring mom; etcetera. Tech credits on 35mm transfer from DV are smart.
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