London River - Review
Review by Jack Foley
FRENCH-Algerian filmmaker Rachid Bouchareb has opted for a difficult and challenging subject matter to provide the backdrop to his first English-language movie… yet pulls off the task in typically thoughtful and emotionally engaging fashion.
London River is set against the backdrop of the aftermath of the London bombings of July 7, 2005, as a lone Christian mother and isolated Muslim father attempt to find their respective daughter and son, who have gone missing.
Brenda Blethyn plays the mum as a bi-lingual widow, from Guernsey, who is equally as lost in a London she does know as Sotigui Kouyate’s father… a thoughtful, but estranged father who hasn’t seen his son since childhood.
Bouchareb, for his part, was moved to make the picture for several reasons, the most prominent of which stemmed from his feelings of isolation as an Algerian living in Paris in the wake of 9/11. But he also wanted to work with British stalwart Blethyn (ever since seeing her in Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies) and wanted to explore the issue of two separate individuals coming together and putting aside their differences for a common aim.
He insists the film is not about the events of 7/7 and, as such, only relies on footage from news archives, rather than recreating the bombings themselves. Instead, it’s a human story set against the turmoil that follows any such terrorist related event.
As such, it’s more about character than circumstance or spectacle, quietly allowing the relationship between Blethyn and Kouyate to build from distrust and resentment (on Blethyn’s part) to reliance and eventual respect and friendship.
In that respect, it’s sensitively played… with Bouchareb’s decision to allow his stars to improvise also helping to create an authentic atmosphere, which tempers grief with anxiety, anger with acceptance.
Blethyn, who rates this performance as her best work to date, is on typically commanding form… creating a character who, although difficult to warm to initially, gradually comes to win our respect, sympathy and tears.
Kouyate, meanwhile, lends his part a tremendous amount of dignity… opting to use looks rather than words to convey many of his emotions.
As good as the performances are, however, there are elements of London River that don’t always work. Some of the plotting is clumsy, while the fate of the children is never really in doubt.
But given the difficulty of the issue, it’s no small compliment to report that Bouchareb has crafted an intelligent and thought-provoking human drama that is made all the more notable for the power of its central performances.
Certificate: 12A
Running time: 88mins
UK Release Date: July 9, 2010