They call it a talent show – it’s actually much more than that. 2006 in a small West Yorkshire town. Sixteen-year old secondary schoolgoer George Bobbin (Joe Anders) is a social outcast but he believes he is destined to be a famous musician even if his classroom efforts are abysmal. His parents Jeffrey (Jack Davenport) and Julia (Alison Sudol) are alternately dismayed (him) and supportive (her) when they go to a parent-teacher evening at St Sebastian’s and are informed just how poorly he is faring at his work. When a famous pop duo’s divorce is announced on the radio it turns out the couple’s son Max Marvin (Samuel Small) is the new student at school due to a change in his mother’s circumstances, according to the headmistress (Nina Wadia.) Max befriends George mainly for maths tutoring despite his lack of standing among their peers especially Molly (Elle McCloskey) who boasts unfathomable power over her mates and she makes a beeline for Max who tolerates her overtures. When Max hears the music track George played in class to the horror of pompous teacher Mr Zeppelin (Ray Panthaki) he adds to the melody and sings along. George’s grades are hopeless considering he dreams of music school and thinks winning the Leavers’ Talent Contest will be the making of him as long as Max helps out. He has feelings for Max but doesn’t know how to deal with them. On a school trip a photographer catches the boys experimenting with their first kiss and when he asks George for a comment the next day to stop a fake story about his use of illicit drugs the photo is front page news. The story blows up and Max decides to go back to his pop star dad (Colin Salmon) in London … My tapes are like a journal. But they’re also a fantasy. This gay dramedy about teens arose from an idea by the screenwriter Mike Gilbert and actor Josh O’Connor who also serves as one of the film’s executive producers. Divided into eight sections (with a titular bonus track) named after some of the best Noughties music, the ungainly protagonist is like a lot of teenagers – uncommunicative, unattractive and unlikeable. It takes quite a while for his character to evolve and that’s aside from his burgeoning homosexuality. The high school romcom tropes as well as the mismatched parents undergoing their own experiments including separation come thick and fast – and Sudol simply doesn’t ring true as George’s mother: why would his getting an earring or piercing be remotely a problem given she has a ring in her nose? This tonal oddity suffers from unsurprising writing, odd casting, bad acting (from the adult cohort) and weak directing. O’Connor’s brief appearance as a tattooist raises the level ever so briefly. The score by Olly Alexander (also an executive producer) whose own body of work has a distinctive problem perhaps suggests the issue with the screenplay – it needs a key change. Sadly that doesn’t occur until the penultimate scene. Directed by Julia Jackman. You can’t please everyone
mondomovies 