London River strays into potentially difficult territory in its portrayal of two parents seeking their children in the wake of the London July 7th bombings in 2005. It is ultimately about two lonely people who find some comfort in one another, with the tragedy acting as a catalyst to bring them together. Describing something like the London bombings as a catalyst may suggest why I think this could have been problematic, however with one exception the movie is played earnestly and respectfully, and while not an easy watch it is a rewarding, bold movie.
Brenda Blethyn plays Elisabeth, a widowed mother living a quiet life on Guernsey, with a daughter in London. When the report of the attacks comes in she tries, unsuccessfully, to call her daughter, and soon leaves for London to find her. Concurrently, a French Muslim called Ousmane (played by
Sotigui Kouyaté, who for years worked on stage for Peter Brook and died not long after this movies release) comes to London in search of his son. These two disparate characters find themselves thrust together; they do not necessarily come together to help each other, they are simply on paths that will inevitably cross. The movie is careful, particularly in its first act, not to force anything, and for the most part there is no hint of contrivance.
Ethnic and racial tensions are central to the movie, written and directed by
Rachid Bouchareb, himself a French Muslim. Elisabeth finds herself in a part of London with a large Muslim population, and cant understand why her daughter would be living there, and she really cant understand why she would be learning Arabic. She is too worried to deal with the culture shock, and when Ousmane first approaches her to help her, she is filled with suspicion. This strikes me as the strongest, most honest passage in the movie, and Blethyn is particularly believable as someone genuinely worried and naive, while Kouyaté carries these scenes, and his role in general, with a strong sense of dignity, conviction and regret. Like the actors, the movie is not determined to pull your heartstrings in any typical way, though it is a tough watch. It is not aspiring towards political correctness, and its portrayal of Islamophobia seems balanced and true to life; perhaps Bouchareb, who sees himself as something of an outsider in France, could identify with Elisabeths sense of alienation. The style does not draw attention to itself, although perhaps I could have lived without the noir-y music. At first I thought the movie wasnt especially cinematic, feeling more suited to television, but I became so absorbed by the performances of the two leads that I quickly forgot this complaint.
I think the movie does make one misstep, aside from its music: without revealing more than necessary about the story, the movie has us or the characters, depending on how you look at it believe one thing before shifting gears again in the final act. This whole section made me uneasy because we dont have the certainty the characters do therefore we feel we know more than they do, while the movie works on the basis that we find out information at the same time as they do. This, albeit brief, section of the movie damages the structure of the final act and could have been avoided altogether; when dealing with events like these, the audience is more responsive to contrivance. However despite this small complaint I think the intentions of the filmmakers are honourable and the movie, particularly those two performances, stick with you. Blethyn projects honest worry and confusion without overdoing the pathos, and Kouyaté has an affecting air of both resignation and resolve. Elisabeth and Ousmane make us feel, firstly, that under pressure and in the confusion and fear of tragedy tensions can be magnified and become destructive. But those same tragedies can also bring together people from different worlds, and force them to face their similarities.
EXTRAS:
A featurette with interviews from Bouchareb and Blethyn; trailer. London River is
available now on DVD.