chosen by Lucy, on her father's recommendation
The film
A middle-class white Christian woman travels to London to check on her daughter, following the 2005 bombings there. She's horrified to discover her daughter's been living above a halal butcher's. She's even more horrified when a stranger - a black dreadlocked Muslim - shows her a picture of his son with her daughter. She persuades the police to arrest him, but he's released. Eventually, as they move around the city seeking their children, they realise they have more in common than they might have imagined.
The response
We talked for ages about this film. First, we picked lots of holes in its accuracy. We couldn't believe the parents would have been told about their children's deaths in a grimy basement corridor - and actually most of the scenes in hospitals and police stations seemed far from reality. The French-speaking policeman wasn't too credible, and nor was the scene outside the morgue. It felt like a French film - a bit dreamy and not too accurate. For us Brits, our recollections of 7/7 and its aftermath are different, and the inaccuracies grated.
We all thought the film tried too hard to show that 'black people are nice and helpful'.
But we agreed that Sotiguyi Koyate was stunning - a beautiful, grounded, heartbreaking performance. Most of us thought Brenda Blethyn was brilliant as well. (Most of us thought she'd played the terrified, silent mother wonderfully, but for some of us, her character was too muted.)
The film certainly raised questions about identity, belonging and difference. We could see how confused and troubled Elisabeth was by believing her daughter rejected virtually everything she stood for. Her character was so bigoted, it was a struggle to sympathise with her: but we found ourselves asking, what situations might we find ourselves in where our prejudices might emerge?
Bruce thought it would have been a better ending to have the young people not die - to have them come back and confront their parents. Maybe it was best left as it was, with unresolved sadness, anger and lost hope.
