‘There’s good living, son, if you manage to get out of this shithole.’
These are the words of wisdom received by sixteen-year-old ‘Goob’ (Liam Walpole) on his last day of school, and they echo throughout Guy Myhill’s coming-of-age drama set in the heatwave stricken Fens in eastern England.
The Goob is an absorbing journey into the day-to-day life of the eponymous teenager, as he attempts to avoid the wrath of his mother’s vicious boyfriend (Sean Harris) and navigates the complexities of friendship and romance.
The film combines a pervading sense of claustrophobia with some triumphant moments of silliness. These scenes serve to remind the audience that Goob is in many ways still a child, despite the responsibilities that are heaped upon his shoulders.
Walpole is thoroughly believable throughout, investing meaning and nuance into Goob’s often monosyllabic dialogue, while Harris delivers a reliably watchable and complex performance as the bullying Gene Womack, despite the character providing nothing new to social-realist cinema’s extensive catalogue of violent father figures.
The outside world has little relevance to the events of the film; characters appear seemingly from the ether and can disappear just as easily, and it quickly becomes clear that for Goob to leave his home would require a huge leap into the unknown.
The setting in rural Fenland provides bags of character, combining what Myhill describes as “dirty roar” of stock car racing with the quiet, hazy tranquillity of the countryside. Goob’s experiences are accompanied by a thumping, exhilarating soundtrack, which helps to prevent the darker elements of the story from dictating the overall tone.
An intelligent microcosm piece with some real talent behind it, The Goob provides an immersive exploration of friendship and rebellion in a setting that is both oppressive and liberating in equal measure.