Oddball British movie that fuses fantasy, horror, pathos and humour, with mixed results.
The plot:
Jim Sturgess plays Jamie Morgan, a man in his early twenties who is blighted by a large, heart shaped birthmark that covers the left side of his face. Lacking confidence, he sees all around chaos and disorder, and a society falling apart.
Whilst walking to the shops, Jamie encounters what seem to be hooded demons attacking someone on the ground, and flees. Soon after, he is sent cryptic messages that lead him to Papa B, the apparent conductor of the chaos all around.
Jamie is given a choice by Papa B: I'll get rid of the birthmark, but you have to repay me with a small favour.
He agrees, but soon realises that the debt he has burdened himself with is far greater than the deal he thought he was making.....
Mixing fantasy and horror is nothing particularly new, but it is handled deftly, with some effective 'monster' design and a strangely surreal atmosphere infused throughout that is by turns gritty and, at times, almost fairytale in nature.
There's pathos aplenty, too, with the main character's physical disfigurement acting as centrepoint to his sense of alienation and, whilst the thought of pathos usually sends me screaming to the the remote control to TURN IT FUCKING OFF, here it is effective and adds an interesting dimension to proceedings.
The problem really lies with the comedy elements, which are just baffling, and rob the movie of any atmosphere or momentum that was building and causes genuine difficulty with regards 'buying into' the internal logic of the movie.
Still, with a solid cast - Sturgess is excellent in the lead role, in particular - this almost makes it work, and it's always nice to see British movie makers veering away from the tired 'it's grim up North' or 'cheeky-chappy gangster' formulae.
Not without merit, but not a film I'd rush to see again.
3 out of 5
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