Review of Treacle Jr. (2010) by Daniel P — 02 Oct 2011

Improvised feeling, natural, moving and finally uplifting, Treacle Jr. reminded me a little of a British mumblecore (that sub-genre that threatened, though never quite managed, to take off towards the end of 2010 and beginning of 2011).

Tom Fisher plays Tom, a married man with a child who for reasons unknown, ups and leaves without warning from his home in Birmingham with no possessions save the clothes he stands in, and makes for the streets of London (he later sort-of explains "I have a problem being around people.

.. I just want to be on my own!", but it's never revealed *exactly* what the 'dealbreaker' was). Faced with living on the streets, he wanders parks until a possible threat from a teenage gang leads to him running straight into a tree, to a hospital to get treatment, where he meets Aidan in the waiting room.

Initially irritating, Aidan speaks with a heavy speech impediment and is possibly developmentally challenged (though this is up for interpretation), and is also initially profoundly irritating. With nothing much to do, Tom allows Aidan to follow him around London and the two eventually bond over a kitten (the titular Treacle Jr.

). During the later stages the story does indulge in a few too many coincidences and the ending is possibly a bit too sugary and predictable (though it feels deserved), but for the most part Treacle Jr.

is an exceptionally fresh, original and invigorating piece of cinema, shot on a tiny budget with a minimal crew, mostly on the fly and in sequential order. The performances of Aidan Gillen and Tom Fisher are truly wonderful (Gillen plays an initially annoying character but by the end you'll be in love with him, I guarantee it), and Riann Steele is also excellent as Aidan's unlikely girlfriend (her manipulation over him is just one of the many interesting shades of grey that ground the film).

A gem.