MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS

A clan of kids gather on the early evening of 21st October 2009 during the opening titles of AMATEUR PORN STAR KILLER director Shane Ryan's latest film.

Then we're taken back to 11 days earlier, where this disturbing tale of true crime really begins. We find two girls, Alyssa (Katie Marsh) and her pal (Demi Baumann) in their early teens bickering obscenely while playing with a shopping trolley. They capture most of their frivolous arguments almost unwittingly on their mobile 'phone video cameras, during this day and then six days later. Whether discussing sexual possibilities with lads at school, cutting each other with knives or encouraging Alyssa's younger sibling Joseph (Joseph Marsh) to engage in a game of touching an electric fence, these girls are as bored as they are removed from reality.

In-between their admittedly engrossing, realistic exchanges, we get footage of a painfully skinny young woman referred to as The Angst (Alex Damiano) who likes to shower vigorously and contain her bulimia by storing her vomit in little jars. The cause of her hardship? Her abusive father.

This is something she seems to have in common with another character we're sporadically implored to identify with, known only in the credits as The Performer (Teona Dolniova). She frequently tells her camera phone, in-between bouts of self-harming, of her aspirations to be a pop star (complete with black-and-white pop video sang in Russian). But, again, it appears she may be getting abused at home...

The film follows these apparently disparate characters in a dizzyingly, perhaps non-linear format as we witness their wild abandon and acts of random churlishness - nothing too heavy, just the usual disenfranchised teenager stuff - until all of these separate strands come together and they perform an act together that, by that time, begs further rationalising beyond instant demonisation.

Although a little baffling for outsiders - there's no exposition, names are rarely announced onscreen; we're just thrown into footage of various unexplained characters going about their business - there's no denying that ANONYMOUS is accomplished in terms of its slick, sharp editing and brightly shot visuals.

The handheld camerawork is a familiar trait of Ryan's, but at the very least here its raw immediacy is justified in terms of the candid build-up of events which attempts to get under the skin of several disenchanted characters. It is a jarring affect, admittedly, but the cumulative result of all of the early, disjointed and video diary-type vignettes is undeniably powerful.

"I don't even know if I exist at this point" one character moans while contemplating suicide. This is the type of grim stance that is to be witnessed casually throughout. Ryan's talent is that he gets such naturalistic performances from his cast that, coupled with the cinema verite style of capturing them and the canny use of them filming almost all thoughts on mobile 'phones (thus allowing them to speak to the screen without necessarily breaking the fourth wall), none if it is too overbearing or portentous.

Indeed, Ryan's developed a style that is disconcertingly in touch with the disaffection of youth which is equal to Larry Clark's (KIDS; KEN PARK). A mournful score, led mostly by a solo guitar, aids the sombre tone of the film. If you want the nihilism of youth, then look no further: Ryan has nailed it, depressingly so.

In keeping with the Clark comparison, Ryan's cast are troublesomely young. They look to be the ages that their characters are. Which makes scenes where they chat nonchalantly about blowjobs, rim jobs, self-mutilation and so much more pretty shocking. Furthermore, I have to say this cast is uniformly excellent: the level of naturalism achieved from them is nothing short of startling.

I mentioned earlier in the review that this film is based on a true crime: the murder of a 9-year-old girl. So, clearly, all events are leading to a downbeat conclusion. But, also, this retelling of a recent event - you can find the details, harrowing though they are, online if you so desire - makes ANONYMOUS a little unsavoury into the bargain.

However. I trust Ryan's objectives on this occasion. There is an intelligence about his bare portrayal of each character; their candid and prolonged exposure suggests he's all about the psychology and less about the sensationalism. This, to me, is Ryan's coming of age. It's an assured, accomplished piece of work by him.

ANONYMOUS is disturbing, yes. It can also boast astounding performances from its young cast and a candid camera approach of the most beneficial style. Stick with it, as disjointed as it may initially seem; it might be harrowing, but MY NAME IS A BY ANONYMOUS is also oddly equally rewarding.

By Stuart Willis