Between Two Worlds

Elliot Gleave (better known as rapper Example) will take all the headlines for his acting debut in Between Two Worlds but Chris Mason is the real star in this reasonable British comedy-drama directed by James Marquand. Mason plays Ryan, a Liverpudlian novelist living in London and searching out inspiration for his second book lest his haughty agent fire him. Best friends Connor (Lucien Laviscourt), who happens to be famous actor, and John (Gleave) attempt to rouse him out of his writer’s block with the cheap bait of London’s nightlife and the façade of clubs, women and drink. A sensitive Ryan only responds to two stimulants: meeting art gallery owner Anna (Hannah Britland) and persistent paternal issues back home.

Filmed between Liverpool and London, though leaning towards interior shots, it tries its best to embrace the settings through long shots of Big Ben and the River Mersey that help keep the shifting orientation in check. More effective than the perfunctory visuals is the well-written script that borders on the witty and perspicacious (“Social media has put the final coffin nail in fidelity.”) to the aphoristic (“You can’t trademark grief.”).

A subplot involving Connor’s split from his girlfriend ends in some hackneyed, cinematic sights of inebriated sways down a street, empty bottle in hand, but Laviscourt’s otherwise credible acting in the film deserves greater recognition than simply portraying a drunk. It’s not all in the name of movie-posturing for the heck of it and the direction (incorporating texturing flashbacks and humorous fantasies) is smart enough to leave no waste in threading the consequences of Connor’s actions into the main act of Ryan’s love life. Britland, competent in character, and Mason are a believable on-screen couple. Mason is given the most to do and because he appears the strongest actor does he handle all emotions with aplomb.

Gleave has expressed the fear he felt over his big screen inauguration and it shows. His character is limited to something along the lines of a callow Jiminy Cricket in Ryan’s ear, however innocuous he might be. And his co-stars help cover over any rookie deficiencies in their preferable performances. Glimpses between worlds meaningful and meaningless always edge towards the latter, which in the end is by far the more exciting to watch anyway.    

Steven White

Between Two Worlds is released nationwide on 23^rd October 2015.

Watch the trailer for Between Two Worlds here: