Pelican Blood is an ambitious film with suicidal tendencies that never quite fully delivers. Straddling a world of dark thoughts and dark deeds all against a back drop of obsessive bird watching – yes, it’s the Bill Oddie type of bird here. Oh yes should you have ever wondered the difference between a white throated sparrow and a white crested sparrow this will sort you right out. In fact it gives us a quite a few handy bird watching facts that I’m sure we can all find handy down the pub on quiz night. Zen Master of the twitchers is Nikko (Harry Treadaway). Nikko is in love with Stevie (Emma Booth). They met on a self harming website, sorry suicide website, wristslashers.com. How could it possibly go wrong? Sadly, director Karl Golden seems to have bitten off more than he can chew with this film. It looks fabulous, grainy and gritty in places, sexy slow mo shots of the bird watchers swaggering confidently like gangsters, but tripods and cameras over their shoulders instead of sub machine guns. But there so many big themes in this film, it’s almost too over whelming, resulting in an apathetic “well, I don’t care if he lives or dies” kind of attitude. It’s brave and it’s bold but ultimately doesn’t get you there. Although did you know pelicans are sacrifice birds, one of the only birds who will kill themselves in order to save another? Put that in your pub quiz.
Showing @ Cineworld 27th June 18:30 and 18th June 21:00
Get Tix @ EIFF