Pure

So I decided to work down my Netflix list and this one had been on there for some time. I'm a Keira Knightley fan and this movie looked promising. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The movie actually won three awards at the Berlin and Emden film festivals.

The plot follows a ten year old boy, Paul, who's father died leaving him to care for his heroin-addicted mother and younger brother. He finds solace in a waitress in similar circumstances, played by Knightley.

The plot is obviously sad and decadent. The story was believable, in my opinion although I have no idea how heroin addiction really is nor how the ghettos of England are really like. The central character was extremely likable and you couldn't help but empathize with him, but who wouldn't empathize with a ten year old boy dealing with the situation like a man? Knightley's character was an enigma and had different motivations going on. The drug dealer character was not very believable, as his personality kept switching around and I'm not sure that he would've treated this family that way if he was the father's long time best friend. Overall, it was a plot that you would expect when dealing with this situation. Nothing exceptionally interesting except for the fact that the main character is only ten. The story arch was also very unbelievable and the 'hollywood ending' should've been scrapped.

The cinematography was also nothing special. There was one nice long rolling shot in a subway station of two of the characters riding bicycles, but that was really the only nice shot. The rest was regular/bland close to mid to long shots. The score was horrible. It was so overly trite and sappy, and very closely resembled an after school special. This movie may have popped better with an edgy score, which this type of plot warranted.

The actor who played Paul, Harry Eden, was amazing. He was so darn cute - and so darn good - that I couldn't turn this movie off, even though I really did want to. The mother also gives a really good performance, with lots of emotion. Knightley does a good job as well, playing a younger character than we've seen her do recently. These performances couldn't overcome the shortcomings in the plot and that score just made the movie feel so horrible.

I was disappointed in this movie. I was expecting something very different. If that boy hadn't been such a cute little kid, I most definitely would've stopped watching this movie. Perhaps if I was British, I would feel a connection to this movie? In any event I really wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. "I'll feed you, but I'm not giving you any of my stash" -- Pure.