Director: David Mackenzie
Cast: Natalia Tena, Luke Treadaway, Matthew Baynton
Running time: 80 minutes
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: When the lead singers of two bands clash at a weekend music festival, a mysterious stranger handcuffs them together and swiftly disappears. Now bound to each other, the feuding rockstars must learn to get along if they are to make succeses of their respective performances. But they must also set aside their growing attraction to each other…
More than anything else, YOU INSTEAD feels like an exercise in experimental filmmaking. Shot over the course of the Scottish music festival T in the Park, there’s a strong sense that director David Mackenzie is pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved within such obvious limitations. As interesting as that may be, Mackenzie’s experiment doesn’t necessarily equate to a credible piece of cinema. However, flawed as it may be, YOU INSTEAD is very likable and suitably sweet.
The first thing to notice about the film is the music festival itself. Though it would have been tempting to steer the camera away from event’s underbelly, Mackenzie refuses to overly glamourise the proceedings. For festival regulars, YOU INSTEAD’s vision of T in the Park is a recognisable landscape: a faithful representation of the Great British Music Festival with no shortage of mud, fancy dress, gurning faces, and burger vans.
Mackenzie revels in framing all aspects of T in the Park, and a great deal of time is spent lingering on the sights and sounds. However, there is an unshakable feeling that he is merely padding out the film’s (already short) runtime, and as the plot develops it becomes increasingly clear that there isn’t enough story to realise its potential. As sweet and affecting as the many musical interludes are, they merely substitute for a lack of narrative substance.
Additionally, some aspects remain underdeveloped; story elements that could have added some much-needed depth outside of the two lead characters’ plight for freedom. For instance, how is it that supposed rock ’n’ roll chick Morella (Natalia Tena) is attached to straight-as-a-die banker Mark (Alastair Mackenzie)? Had Mackenzie and screenwriter Thomas Leveritt scratched the surface of this relationship, they may have revealed further and crucial layers to the story, something sorely needed to elevate the supporting cast above just ‘stock’ characters.
But for all its faults, there is something engaging about protagonists Morella and Adam (Luke Treadaway), and the chemistry between them remains the film’s most appealing aspect. Unfortunately, this is undermined by the predictability of it all, and despite the offbeat and unique build-up, the inevitable climax unravels any good work done until this point (perhaps more at home in JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS or such the like).
Credit must go to Mackenzie and all involved for trying their hand at something new. It has failed admittedly, but not entirely, and one can’t help but feel that perhaps more risks should be taken in modern cinema, whether they succeed or otherwise.
YOU INSTEAD arrives in cinemas 16th September 2011
