Review for TBC – Second
Part
Joseph Cross’s latest piece TBC returns us to some similar
ground and remembrance of his roots, from his previous piece, ‘Family Ties’ (2011). Suburban Surrey , with it’s grassy hills, and built up council
estates, foreshadow the hushed sufferings of its inhabitants. The poor
juxtaposed with the rich right next door as your ‘friendly neighbour’.
TBC’s main male protagonist, Luke, could be seen easily as
the older version of his previous male character just a bit older and more
weathered socially, still with the failing social realist relationships, seen
in the relationship in his previous work with the mother/son relationship. But
in this new piece, it is seen within his failing relationship, with the female,
supporting protagonist, Alice. Alice
is a completely new character to Cross, and an utterly new field for him to
create wonders with. Her portrayal of the niche, ‘emo’ social clique
represented through her all black attire, even down to the tiniest make up
detail, meshed with her withdrawn, social awkward representation make for the
drama that has been introduced in to this new piece, which creates the hybrid
genre.
The flawed love story, and the social drama is very
reminiscent of Andrea Arnold’s ‘Fish Tank’, in the shape and form that while
Mia, the protagonist of ‘Fish Tank’ strives for social recognition through her
dancing and the adoration of a male (Michael Fassbender), TBC’s Luke strives
for the adoration and social recognition from Alice, shown through one of the
main dilemmas of the short, where Luke is shot down and then has to choose
whether to ignore or defend Alice.
The overall acting of the inexperienced individuals is
utterly helped by the choice of location. Set in the Sixth Form Cross used to
attend as a teen, he knew exactly what environment to set this piece in to make
it realistic and believable, the imagery of the group of bullies, part of the
‘popular’ clique is a very clichéd idea but it has been pulled off in a way
that makes it relevant to today’s teenagers. Cross stated; ‘I went in to visit
for a day, and was welcomed back very warmly, and it hadn’t changed. The social
cliques were all still present, even if a bit involved and there was also the
group of bullies, and the few outcasts. It was just a matter of portraying that
evolution, in my piece.’
So with Luke’s motives of acceptance and love, the film
starts to seem incredibly cliché but it does it in a very subtle, enjoyable
way. It doesn’t seem like a rehash of previous love/drama stories but more of a
re-imagining but from a social realist point of view. With a very blunt take on
teenage life, rejection, isolation, torment being some key features that are
under represented by the media as a whole. TBC makes a very good stab, at
opening the normally very dark, locked door to teenage life, but manages to get
itself through that door and give a very real representation at what teenagers
go through on a daily basis and what can happen if you make a stand, and make a
change for yourself. This in turn makes it an extremely fun, informative watch
for a social realism/drama hybrid.
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