Review: Little Pieces

2nd July 2015

Little Pieces tells the story of Michael and his brother Eric as they try and navigate the trials of adolescence with an alcoholic father.

Things will take dramatic turn when Michael’s girlfriend, Cheryl, and her boss, Jerry, have a chance encounter with Eric.

Little Pieces is a film that feels like it is trying too hard to make us care. The script is overstuffed with themes of domestic abuse, violence, issues of abandonment and addiction to alcohol and power, when a more restrained approach could have been more effective. Instead of being a gripping social realist drama in the vein of David Mackenzie’s Starred Up (2013), it is much closer to an old fashioned melodrama, in which flimsy characters interact in artificial situations. The dialogue is so tinny that you can hear coins rattle around in it; it would probably feel at home with Dorothy and the other characters on the Yellow Brick Road.

The film, thankfully, isn’t as bad as the script; it really comes alive in moments when dialogue isn’t being delivered. The running scenes and the scenes in the ice rink are much more credible. Some of the performances are a little too hammy and others are a little underplayed but for a low budget film, this is excusable. Finnain Nainby – Luxmoore (Michael), Matt Jones (Eric) and Isabelle Glinn (Cheryl) do as good a job as they can with what they are given to work with. Jerry, Cheryl’s boss, makes the average BNP voter look like a pussycat and is played with annoying relish by Peter Oliver, sometimes to the detriment to the film. Finally, Imraan Husain’s superb original score supports the film wonderfully and Ellis Leigh’s convincing make up should also be applauded.

So, Little Pieces is a film built with strong performances and a convincing visual style. It is just a shame that Nelson’s sharp eye for strong visuals isn’t matched with a good ear for dialogue.

Facebook

Google

Twitter

We hope you're enjoying BRWC. You should check us out on our social channels, subscribe to our newsletter, and tell your friends. BRWC is short for battleroyalewithcheese.