home
|
about
|
news
|
contents
|
gossip
|
photographs
|
venues
|
brighton
|
dublin
|
edinburgh
|
film
|
features
|
interviews
|
awards
|
fashion
|
recipes
|
no more drinks
|
newsletter
|
links
|
contact
Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
Edinburgh International Film Festival
DANNY
Verdict: Compelling drama of patient and psychiatrist
Edinburgh - Filmhouse 3 - Lothian Road - August 2002
Danny's tramping the no-man's land between the safety of a mental institution and the terrors of a hostile world. This compassionate, compelling film in the Explosive Fragments season at Filmhouse catches him at his most vulnerable moment.
Danny's at home in his institution, and from its security he can handle forays into the ouside world with confidence. We meet him through the understanding, experienced eyes of psychologist Dr Grantham. It's time to take the giant step back into the 'real' world, and Grantham's a gentle persuader. But within seconds, Danny changes from diffident confidence to a self-mutilating bundle of fear.
Yet as soon as he's out of the room and onto the streets, he's almost Jack The Lad, trading drugs with dealer Des at his scummy flat, and hesitantly kissing Des's girlfriend Viv.
The drugs Danny's selling are the crux. Back in the institution, out of sight of the staff, he's a persuasive, ruthless bully - cajoling and, when necessary, intimidating the other patients. He steals or tricks away their prescriptions, and passes them to dealers outside. His most pathetic victim is Raymond - with the brain of an infant and the body of a shambling, harmless giant.
Danny's two sides - at their most extreme, the humble patient he shows to Dr Grantham, and the swaggering sadist to his fellow-inmates - rapidly collide. Grantham's on to him, and a tribunal is convened to examine him. Their conclusion is that Danny's fit for discharge, and has been for some tims. The discovery of his drug thefts - and the damage these have done to the other patients - determine his immediate expulsion.
DANNY is a strong piece of work which some may find distressing. It pulls no punches and there's a fine quality to each of the performances. Director Anton Saunders skilfully uses the medium of film to convey ambiguity in a way that would be difficult on stage. We can see Danny's world: but are we really seeing it objectively, or as he sees it? If it's 'real', is the powerful figure of Dr Grantham behaving in the extreme way we perceive, or is his behaviour distorted by Danny's perception? Equally, DANNY's fine cast and crew achieve a film that can be enjoyed as straight narrative about engaging and interesting characters.
Cast credits (alpha order) - Leslie Canavan (Des), Terry French-Grahem (Raymond Carver), Sue Haritch (Receptionist), Vikki Ingram (Viv), James Oerton (Dr Grantham), Anton Saunders (Danny).
Crew credits - Director of Photography + Lighting - Matt Broad. Sound - Andrew James. Editor - Steve Parker.
Writer - Anton Saunders. Directed and produced by Anton Saunders and Simon Taylor.
END
John Park
reviewed Thursday 22 August 02 / Explosive Fragments / Filmhouse 3, Lothian Road
Film reference site - International Movie Database
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
