Film Review - Scrapper
Images courtesy of Madman Entertainment.
Does it truly take a village to raise a child? Georgie certainly doesn’t think so. But when her estranged father unexpectedly hops her back fence and attempts to stumble back into her life – everything changes in an instant. Offbeat, endearing, and at times, soul-crushing, Charlotte Regan’s feature debut Scrapper poignantly weaves tangerine-tinged whimsy into a tale of reconciliation, effortlessly bearing the weight of immeasurable loss with a touching irreverence.
In the wake of her mother’s passing, 12-year-old Georgie (played by Lola Campbell in a stunning debut) lives alone in her East London flat, navigating the five-stages of grief whilst shouldering burdens of self-sufficiency far beyond her years. Accompanied by her closest confidant Ali (Alin Uzun), Georgie manages to deceive social services by conjuring an imaginary uncle to act as her guardian whilst sustaining a livelihood through unconventional means – pilfering bikes around the neighbourhood. Through her portrayal, Lola Campbell embosses Georgie’s character with a mischievous yet guarded resilience, blending Addie Loggins with Punky Brewster and a dose of reality. She adeptly showcases an animated resourcefulness that transcends well beyond the ordinary, whilst maintaining a firm foothold within the realm of reality. However, Georgie’s defences occasionally wane, revealing a stark tenderness to her grief which reiterates a simple truth to the audience: she’s still just a child who really misses her mum.
When Jason (Harris Dickinson) unexpectedly emerges at her back doorstep to assume the role of primary caretaker, tensions rise as Georgie’s reception to his presence is laced with feelings of betrayal and mistrust. Georgie wants nothing to do with this modern-day Moses Pray donning Slim Shady’s trademark peroxided coiffure circa 2002 – in her mind’s eye, she’s done quite well without him cramping her style. Dickinson shines through his aloof portrayal of an absentee father struggling to navigate newfound paternal responsibility twelve years too late, but the dynamic he forges with Campbell as they each try to cohabitate the path to reconciliation is stunningly authentic.
For such a short runtime, Scrapper is an immensely complex debut, interlacing a metatheatrical dry wit with an at-times melancholic but often endearing tone. The journey, though occasionally punctuated by comedic missteps, intricately weaves together a tonal tapestry that builds to a deeply moving and resonant climax. However, this film’s most optimal quality is its astuteness to embrace the open-endedness of reality. Is there an immediate resolution? Not really. Is it suggested? Sure. It specifically seeks to emphasise the inherent complexities of such circumstance; grief and familial reconciliation are highly intricate and multifaceted. Not everything will be properly resolved within an 80-minute runtime, but what you’re left with is an understanding that they have an understanding, and that’s very special.
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Scrapper is screening in cinemas from Thursday 14th September. For tickets and more info, click here.