Written and directed by Charlotte Regan, Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality. Starring: Lola Campbell, Harris Dickinson, Alin Uzun, Ambreen Razia and Aylin Tezel.
Taking on a film that follows a grieving child, left almost entirely alone, faced with the sudden re-appearance of a father she’s never met, while keeping a sense of humour is setting yourself up for a big challenge, especially as a first feature as solo director. The style feels like it’s dipping its toes in mockumentary but not committing to it. It cuts away to some wonderful to camera bits from its supporting players which are fun to watch and feel classically British. However, while that aspect of the comedy works really well, it’s not threading into the rest of the film, it feels sporadic.
Therein lies the key issue which holds back the film, it isn’t consistent in tone and atmosphere. It moves in and out of the emotional territory of the film, never landing long enough to create a sincere air or unravel any of Georgie’s (Lola Campbell) trauma or struggle. It almost feels as if it’s being aimed at a younger audience, that it’s not gripping onto the deeper issues to keep things more accessible. At the same time, the creation of Georgie’s character with all of her false bravado and hustling attitude can come across forced. It has a certain charm but not one that’s particularly strong.
When Harris Dickinson arrives as Georgie’s father Jason, things start to settle down and within that balance, the film truly finds its footing. The connection which Campbell and Dickinson create from that incredibly prickly and battle-esque introduction to realising how much they need each other is sweet to watch. However, it’s Alin Uzun who’s the surprise here, he gives a wonderful performance that holds an unexpected emotional maturity and generosity, it’s only a shame his character seems to be sidelined in the second half.
The tone that Charlotte Regan builds feels akin to a more youthful version of Rachel Tunnard’s Adult Life Skills, although sadly it doesn’t hold the same sense of imagination. There’s something there, it’s edited well and the direction is certainly trying to embrace Georgie’s vibrant personality but it struggles to establish itself. The shot choices, variety of angles and the way that it weaves in and out of different styles is captivating to watch but they don’t all mesh to create a larger personality.
With Scrapper it feels like Charlotte Regan was trying to accomplish a lot of different things and couldn’t quite put them all together. It’s a shame it didn’t more decidedly pick a direction and either lean fully into the comedy or pull back and focus on the drama because it doesn’t manage to strike the right balance of both. The performances are great and Alin Uzun makes a terrific debut alongside the intensely spirited Lola Campbell and their trio is rounded out perfectly by Harris Dickinson. Unfortunately, it simply doesn’t build enough sincerity or create enough strongly memorable moments to pack a punch.
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