The trials and tribulations of late teen adolescence and rebellious youth have been the mainstay of many a coming-of-age comedy or drama, be it AMERICAN GRAFFITI, GREASE, THE INBETWEENERS MOVIE, PORKY’S and QUADROPHENIA.
It’s a very recyclable ideal which, like the youth it pertains to portray, always yields new honesty and perspective if the right director and writer gel to create what is on screen.
PHILOPHOBIA – directed by Guy Davies from a story he wrote and scripted by Matthew Brawley – is a key screening at the London Independent Film Festival 2020 and takes us into the bright rural world of small-town life and focuses on a core group of energetic, if deflated, youths.
Kai (Joshua Glenister) (a talented and aspiring writer) Sammy (Charlie Francis) (milk delivery boy) and Megsy (Jack Gouldbourne) (a wayward teen with a policeman stepfather) are heading into a summer they won’t forget, with exams looming and the end of an era. Kai has the hots for Grace (Kim Spearman), although she is hooked up with an overbearing boyfriend and natural bully, Kenner (Alexander Lincoln) who picks on Kai without remorse.
It is a world where boredom sometimes overshadows the energy and potential of this collective, be it Kenner cajoling Megsy into borrowing his father’s rifle or taking forks from the school canteen for kicks.
Inevitably, emotional complications from that transitional period between early and late teens comes into play, as well as making the right choice to avoid regret later in life. For Kai, there is much to reflect on. He is a talented youth who seems a little disjointed and misplaced and the growing bond and desire for Grace is also starting to impact as well…
PHILOPHOBIA taps into the essence of joyous and spirited youth, with first-rate performances from a talented young cast just starting out on their own creative and emotional journey into adulthood.
At times both bittersweet and humorous, in a place where the adults desire to be like their younger upstarts, everything you could want from a solid British indie youth drama is here, coupled with a delightfully daring prank towards the end that is consistent with some of the memorable fun moments of the youth films of the past.
Davies directs with perception and soul and given the right outlet and platform, this will certainly have the potential to hit the same heights as some of the examples previously mentioned earlier. It is admirable also for the sudden shifts in tone throughout, exactly how adolescence should be portrayed.
PHILOPHOBIA screens at the London Independent Film Festival 2020
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