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‘Urchin’ Review: Harris Dickinson’s Fine Directorial Debut Bridges Social Realism and Surrealism
Harris Dickinson cedes the spotlight to Frank Dillane, jaggedly heartbreaking as a homeless addict unable to break the cycle, in 'Urchin.'
Where “Urchin” diverges from the old-school Loachian playbook is in its few passages of tumbling surrealism, entering the addled freefall mindset of protagonist Mike (Frank Dillane) via kaleidoscopic digital imagery and dreamily incongruous visions — a gaping forest cave, a hushed gothic abbey — that stand in stark contrast to the film’s rough-and-ready east London milieu. He emerges from it sober and conscientious, determined to finally stay clean as he takes a job as a commis chef in a low-end hotel, and a hostel room secured by brisk, no-nonsense social worker Nadia (Shonagh Marie) — who bluntly reminds him that as an able-bodied white man with a criminal record and a history of violence, he is not the system’s top priority. For a time, Mike holds it together, dutifully listening to platitudinous self-help tapes and befriending some cheery co-workers at the hotel — cue a tipsy karaoke performance of the optimistically titled Atomic Kitten hit “Whole Again.” But his more erratic impulses eventually get the better of him, vaulting him into alternative employment as a litter collector, and an initially benign relationship with carefree immigrant drifter Andrea (Megan Northam) that sours when she inadvertently pulls him off the wagon with a dose (and then another, and another) of ketamine.
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