WOODFALLS

We first heard of David Campion here at SGM when his debut film PATROL MEN, which he co-directed with Ben Simpson, surfaced a few years back. It was an impressive start to their filmmaking careers, the young pair overcoming the limitations of a reported £10,000.00 budget with stylish Dorset-based compositions and a quirky, unpredictable screenplay.

Since then, the childhood friends have been quiet on the movie front. Until now. Campion is back, having written and directed his latest venture WOODFALLS solo (with a little help from his pal Ben who helped conceive the story outline).

Naturally, then, we were more than keen to get up to speed and take a closer look at Campion's latest film. We did, after all, remark at the time that PATROL MEN was "well-shot ... atmospheric ... an accomplished feature".

This time around the nods to THE WICKER MAN and "The League of Gentlemen" have been replaced by gritty social realism.

Based in a small, unnamed rural town, the film opens with traveller Billy (Matthew Ferdenzi) enjoying a pint in the local pub. When local lad Damon (Gareth Bennett-Ryan) spies him, he spits in his drink and ultimately chases him out into the car park, where he and his two lackeys set upon him. But Billy's made of harder stuff then any of them and gives them all a good hiding. Unbeknown to him, this is all observed by Bradley (Tyron Maynard) from the comfort of his nearby car.

Bradley, a black man who is himself no stranger to local prejudice, makes it his business to approach Billy at his home – a caravan that has been settled on the edge of a field. He lives there with his mother Marie (Maggie Daniels) and younger sister, Becca (Michelle Crane).

Initially suspicious of his new wannabe friend, Billy eventually warms to Bradley and accepts his invitation to party in a house in the village. It’s certainly an eye-opening experience for him: drugs, booze and sex all feature.

Meanwhile, however, Damon has also discovered where Billy lives and has his mates pelt the caravan with eggs. Marie, perhaps unjustly, gives her son an ear-bashing the following morning for not being there when it counted.

As Billy’s friendship with Bradley continues to flourish by way of nights out clubbing and scoring drugs from local dropout Wozzle (Joe Law), his mother looks on disapprovingly while Becca increasingly longs to sample the nightlife she sees him becoming so excited about.

On the other end of the village, Damon harbours a grudge. He’s had his ego battered not once but twice by Billy – it transpires the girl Billy banged at his first party was an ex of Damon’s – and his mates have bailed out on him. At home his lot is not much happier: his father is a lout who, up until now, has controlled the village as its prime drug supplier – but some new guys are in town, and they mean violent business.

It’s just a matter of time until the main characters’ lives are entwined in the most disturbing manner.

It would be unfair to give any more of WOODFALLS’ plot away, as the film is a short one (72 minutes) which takes its time in establishing the above. Characters are each afforded ample opportunity to convey the whole gamut of emotions while storyline takes a backseat, the viewer building uneasily towards a final act that will bring certain inevitabilities (Becca’s curiosity; Damon and Billy’s distant feud) to the fore.

As mentioned earlier in this review, Campion has eschewed the horror motifs on this venture. Instead, he looks to Shane Meadows for stylistic and thematic inspiration. The small-town setting and mentalities echo those of DEAD MAN’S SHOES; themes of prejudice and familial dysfunction bring to mind THIS IS ENGLAND.

Campion’s script is gritty and convincing, its language coming across as largely authentic. Familiar scenarios such as small-time drug deals and drunken nights out are played out with style and imagination, the director’s camerawork and editing finding an energy that matches the film’s muscular dubstep score.

Speaking of which, WOODFALLS opens to an angry rap about the state of modern Britain and doesn’t really let up with the fury from there. This really is a film dripping with spite: every scene involves a moment of violence, argument or disillusion. Kudos to the spirited (mostly) young cast, then, for making it all less depressing than that sounds.

As with PATROL MEN, WOODFALLS scores points for toying with expectations. Anyone with even vague knowledge of this type of cinema knows what’s going to happen Becca long before it does – but how it happens, and how it’s subsequently dealt with may come as a surprise.

WOODFALLS is a very low budgeted affair and there are, inevitably, flaws. Some of the acting leaves a lot to be desired (everyone is at their best when shouting – thankfully, this happens a lot). Law’s performance is an odd one, teetering between a chillingly realistic portrayal of the type of weedy scumbag we’ve all met and loathed, and pure pantomime. Bennett-Ryan comes out on top, convincing as a complete bastard and yet also capable of eliciting unexpected empathy. I predict we’ll be seeing more of him in the future.

Tackling a topical matter such as travellers and the controversy concerning their rights is commendable, but their personas here don’t ring quite true. For a start, where are the other travellers? Billy, Marie and Becca appear to have settled alone in the field – which seems odd and doesn’t get explained. And while I appreciate we’re meant to empathise with them for the most part, the cartoonish nature of Damon and his boys as villains seems a little broad. Billy’s family appear almost religiously clean in their ways by comparison, until the morally ambiguous denouement which (intentionally?) challenges everything you’ve determined about these characters thus far.

Then there’s Bradley. A severely underwritten character, to the point that I honestly thought his motivation was going to provide a major twist towards the end. I was left hanging. He doesn’t even serve as a target of prejudice of another kind.

I don’t wish to sound too down on WOODFALLS though, because I enjoyed it and there are many more pluses than minuses to be found. Aesthetically it’s appealing, the aforementioned score is often invigorating and the gritty urban violence manages to come across as really bone-crushing despite never being overtly graphic.

It’s important to note that the version provided for review was a "rough cut" so more editing and so on may well occur before a final cut goes looking for distribution. As it stands, WOODFALLS looks and sounds great, has as much heart as it does anger, and is one of those rare films that could actually benefit from being 20-minutes-or-so longer: it would be nice to learn a little more about where these characters come from, how they make ends meet, and what makes them tick.

Review by Stuart Willis