In a depiction of teenage angst, frolics and unrequited love, The Scouting Book For Boys, directed by Tom Harper, enraptures with serene vistas and a vibrant but shocking narrative full of macabre undertones.
The plot follows best friends David (This Is England star Thomas Turgoose) and Emily (Holliday Granger) and their seemingly carefree, ragamuffin existence on a coastal caravan park. Granger, who plays the role of alpha female with much vigour, tends to lead the twosome in their wild shenanigans. From roof gliding, to shoplifting and sheep chasing the pair are tracked with poetic camerawork that captures the momentum of youthhood and free living.
In contrast to this however is the predicament the two find themselves in; it transpires that Turgoose lost his mother from an early age and that Granger’s is an, albeit comical, iconographical Winehouse-esque alcoholic.
Things start to slide down a vertiginous slope when Granger’s father reveals he wants her leave the caravan park to live with him outside the complex. In a stint of teenage rebellion she persuades Turgoose to help her hide out in a discreet cave on the beach.
Turgoose, whose feelings for her run so deep it is almost palpable, subsequently faces gut-wrenching scenarios shrouded in lies. He plays this role with a pristine depth that can only validate his place as one of Britain’s most exciting new talents.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the situation builds to a crescendo when residents start to point the finger of blame at those possible for her disappearance.
Simultaneously, things underground start to get messy when Granger reveals a shattering secret.
The script, which was written by Jack Thorne, who brought recent hits like Skins and Shameless to television screens, builds on youthful emotions that resonate and transcend to an adult audience with a humour and seriousness that is gripping.
Although a little slow on the get-go, The Scouting Book For Boys lulls the audience into a false sense of security set in an almost-pastoral, beachy location with all the classic, tacky iconography you’d expect to see in a film based around the English bastion of a summer resort - the caravan park.
This film truly delights with astute performances from the supporting cast and benefits from a complementary stirring soundtrack from Noah and the Whale.
A definite hit!
By Jade Lori Baker