Feature – UK World Premiere

Showing @ George Sq Theatre 19 June @ 18:15 & 22 June @ 20:15

Niall MacCormick/UK/2010/88 min/TBC

Lust, longing, identity and ambition are the subjects of Niall MacCormick’s Albatross, a new British comedy set on the Isle of Man that presents an intelligent snapshot of life in middle-class Britain today.

When outgoing teenager and aspiring writer, Emilia Conan Doyle (Jessica Brown Findlay) a descendant of the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, begins work as a cleaner at The Beach House, she affects every member of the owner’s family, especially shy teenager Beth (Felicity Jones) and her father, Jonathan (Sebastian Koch) a writer who’s struggling to achieve the success of his one hit novel, and sees Emilia as a suitable distraction.

Battling with such themes as the dysfunctional family, a teenage sex kitten, identity and the move to university, MacCormick’s comedy drama should feel a lot heavier than it actually is. But despite the sheer number of challenges that the characters face, Albatross manages to gently move between them, but not before adding a lot of humour to the mix. Initially a portrait of an unhappy family, the film is given a kick up the arse by the addition of Emilia, and the feelings and desires that she instils in them all. However, this isn’t just another rip-off of Lolita, because Albatross is more concerned with presenting the innocent friendship between Emilia and Beth, a friendship that’s a lot more childlike than it should be. While Emilia seems a little too mouthy, with her comebacks and put-downs being far too perfect, and Jonathan appears to fall for her a little too quickly, the overall characterisation of the film is what makes it so believable, as they are all characters that the audience can relate to. Witty, funny, yet also moving, Albatross is a refreshingly intelligent comedy that beautifully captures the heart of modern Britain.