A Day of Violence - FAB Fest, Filmhouse - 30/4/10

Nasty.

Brutish.

Violent.

Aggressive.

Ugly.

Sounds good doesn't it?

No?

Then you should probably stop reading now because "A Day of Violence" was all of those things and it was fabulous because of them. Made on a budget of £50,000 (which is roughly what a Premiership footballer makes for 45 minutes work) this is very far removed from the glossy gangster films that clutter up the multiplexes and it is about as far removed from the sort of sanitised nonsense that Guy Ritchie produces as it is possible to get. Director Darren Ward gives us a nightmarish look at the life of small time debt collector Mitchell over the course of his final few hours on the planet. During that time we are dragged into a world of genuinely shocking violence and gut wrenching blood letting.

The fact that it is made on a shoe-string budget means that, clearly, it lacks the polish of films with much larger bank accounts but given Wards love of Italian cinema, and particularly the "nasty" element of it, this works in the films favour as it become something of a homage to the sort of films that he clearly loves.



There can't be many films that feature such graphic violence that also manage to elicit so much sympathy for the central character who is responsible for so much of the fims brutality. The fact that Mitchel (played by Nick Rendell) does manage to make us feel something other than fear and repulsion is testament to Wards ability. Like "The End" which screened earlier today as part of FAB Fest "ADOV" is an example of people who care enough about film to get up and make them. Could this film have been smoother around the edges? Yes. Could this film have been slicker? Yes. Is it going to be in the running for anyones shortlist of best British films this year? No. That shouldn't stop everyone from applauding everyone involved because with a shooting schedule that saw filming only take place on weekends, a miniscule budget and a, relatively, inexperienced cast (with the exception of cult legend Giovanni Lombardo Radice) they have made something compelling and undeniably there own.