UK Premiere / Feature – International
Showing @ Filmhouse 1, Fri 17 June @ 19:40 & Mon 20 June @ 21:50
Romain Gavras / France / 2010 / 87 min / French with English subtitles
Being ginger has different implications around the world. In Spain, for example, redheads are celebrated for their uniqueness and supposed fiery personality, whilst the same hair in France often leaves the wearer with an inexplicable feeling of shame, of standing out for all the wrong reasons. Such is the situation for Remy (Olivier Barthelemy), who longs for a world full of ginger haired people just like him. Awkward, alienated and disaffected, Remy finds himself the protégé of Patrick (Vincent Cassel), an out-and-out violent misanthrope who picks fights and causes trouble at every opportunity. Together they embark on a bizarre road trip to the land of the redheads – Ireland – leaving a trail of nihilistic chaos behind them.
The only way to describe this film is Will Ferrell meets Natural Born Killers, finely balanced and impressively envisioned by director Romain Gavras. Initially full of hilariously random events that could be a coming-of-age quest, a weird mix of sadistic humour and truly horrific violence follows until the final flicker of comedy is ebbed out and the audience is left wondering what the hell they found so funny. Countless scenes are horrifically cringe-inducing, from Remy shaving his own head bloody with a blunt razor, to Patrick urinating and then masturbating into a helpless couple’s hot tub while they remain unmoved lest they be impaled with Remy’s crossbow. Essentially a two-man show, Barthelemy’s character development from gawky teenager to confident thug is impressively convincing, whilst Cassel encapsulates a terrifying instability that is uncomfortably recognisable. The pair’s combined ability to invoke both humour and horror with such dead-pan stoicism is what really gives the film its disturbing edge, and makes for a manic and strangely enjoyable 87 mins.