After a gap of nine years director Paul Oremland of Like It Is fame makes a welcome return with this engaging, if unconventionally shot British thriller.
And it all began when gay IT teacher Adam fancied a night out clubbing, only to get more than he bargained for when his one-night stand turned out to be Jake; a society photographer, son of a major media mogul and boyfriend to...well that would be saying, but put it this way, there could well be blue blood running through his veins. All of which makes the powers that be, ill at ease. Then again, they are not alone, given the next day Jake promptly disappears, only to wind up dead. Realising that he could be next in line for the kill, Adam turns to an old university friend for help, in a move that may not be to his advantage given budding television presenter Amy is out for a headline story. And the fact that she works for the Raven News Network owned by the father of his midnight encounter, only complicates matters further. Unsure of who to trust bar former lover Ben, in a bid of desperation Adam turns to The Saint, a man of Jake's acquaintance whom he hopes holds the answers to his unanswered questions.
Inspite of the opening proclamation citing that "the footage in this film is taken from surveillance cameras and CCTV," such is clearly not the case. All of which is a welcome relief, given it would otherwise imply that Big Brother has expanded his viewing into the cubicles found on the London sauna scene. Yet with Great Britain having more than 4 million CCTV cameras and the average Briton caught on camera an estimated 300 times in a day, the factuality of the line "you could pick up on a target getting on a train in Glasgow and track him all the way down to a shop in Oxford street" may well be riding close to the truth.
What is not in doubt is that Oremland delights in shooting his work journalistic style, editing it together using an array of creative techniques from fake CCTV footage and spy-cams, to hand-held camera sequences and the like of mobile phone footage. Whether the result is to your liking however is open to question, for whilst emphasising the surveillance theme of the piece, such could end up being a turnoff for some, distracting your attention from the narrative itself. Then again, you cannot help but admire a director who has gone out of his way to try something different.
Such endeavours are matched by a film noir story that hooks you in with government agents who do not mind breaking the law, if indeed they are not above it, underhanded goings on in the media, let alone a bit of pink blood at the heart of the monarchy. To that end, Simon Callow as St John revels in the part of a disgruntled royal aide, armed as he is with some of the best lines in a film that delights in mixing suspense with comical undertones. Only should an element of comedy be present in a work of this nature? Thankfully Séan Brosnan as Jake, Dawn Steele as Amy, Nicholas Jones as Lord Raven, together with Like It Is star Ian Rose as Ben are all on hand to offer fine support to Tom Harper, who delivers a natural sensitivity to the part of Adam; a man whose life is rapidly spiraling out of control.
As a film that questions the line between personal privacy and a Big Brother state, Oremland has delivered a feature that is both entertaining and alarming, drip feeding us with fragments of the story, at times told flashback style, before assembling all the pieces in the final reel for our viewing pleasure. That this is but a work of fiction is not in doubt, although I dare say that conspiracy theorists will be having a field day over whether certain aspects of the screenplay by Kevin Sampson are based more on fact, than fiction. For in the end, this bold and innovative thriller brings to mind the question of just how far Big Brother is capable of watching you, let alone how free from misuse and truly safe is the information that the state already holds on us? Answers, not by email please!
starring: Tom Harper, Dawn Steele, Séan Brenden Brosnan, Simon Callow, Nicholas Jones,
Abigail Hollick, Ian Rose, William Osborne, Michael Elwyn, Julian Date
After a gap of nine years director Paul Oremland of 
What is not in doubt is that Oremland delights in shooting his work journalistic style, editing it together using an array of creative techniques from fake CCTV footage and spy-cams, to hand-held camera sequences and the like of mobile phone footage. Whether the result is to your liking however is open to question, for whilst emphasising the surveillance theme of the piece, such could end up being a turnoff for some, distracting your attention from the narrative itself. Then again, you cannot help but admire a director who has gone out of his way to try something different.
