Rent Electricity (2014)

Poor Agyness - Electricity review by SM

This project probably looked good on paper to Agyness and her acting coach slash management team. The only good thing about this film is that Agyness has proved she can actually act well but she should change aforesaid management team because this one is a major stinker, really boring where nothing interesting happens at all. I totally agree with reviewer AM's 'star vehicle' comment. The director seems to be desperately channeling Mike Leigh without any success at all. If I had gone to the cinema to watch this I would have walked out halfway and demanded a refund. But don't worry, if you are still interested you will probably see it listed soon on Channel 4 at around 2am. That's only if even they decide to pick it up on the cheap. Sorry Agyness, there's definitely a better one out there for you!

Good film, but... - Electricity review by CM

Technical problem: far too quiet, even on maximum volume, to catch all the words, so we may have lost vital parts of the plot.

Deyn gives a powerful & vulnerable performance in a film which needed a bit more work on the script - Electricity review by Timmy B

Lily O'Connor (Deyn) is a determined, funny & loyal young woman who lives in the North of England. Despite her vivaciousness, she also suffers from epilepsy due to childhood abuse, resulting in repeated debilitating seizures/fits. This condition has meant that she has never left her hometown due to the anxiety of being in a strange place with no-one she knows. One day, one of her brothers gets in touch to tell her their mother has died and left a large inheritance. However, Lily is determined to find her other brother (and protector when she was younger) Mikey, who hasn't been seen for years, to give him his share & bring him back into her life.

Many famous models have become actors, and whilst there has been some terrible work done by them, they have also produced some of the greatest acting performances ever (Charlize Theron in Monster and Halle Berry in Monster's Ball come to mind.) And whilst those were both bravura & risky roles, most actors will ease themselves into acting before tackling something more challenging. However, Agyness Deyn clearly didn't get that memo.

To portray Lily, not only did Deyn do extensive research, but she was also unafraid to be extremely vulnerable, especially in the aftermath of her seizures. We have barely met Lily when we not only see a seizure from her perspective, but also watch as she clears herself up, including the results of toilet accidents. Very quickly it is established this is a film which will pull no punches, which is absolutely to Deyn's and the filmmakers credit.

But it isn't only Deyn's bravery that stuck with me. She also creates a genuinely interesting & dynamic character in Lily, someone who I really enjoyed spending time with. And Lily is also made a fully 3-dimensional character. There is no saccharine & facetious patronisation of her, but neither is she a character whose behaviour gets extremely annoying. We see her early life, including growing up in an abusive home, through to the trauma of being separated from Mikey by child protection services. And you never doubt her drive & desperation to find Mikey again.

But the reason this is a 3 star film is because, despite Deyn's performance, the script is in many ways not very good. Lily's other brother Barry is an extremely irritating, Del-Boy type figure (without the charm,) who acts like an extra out of The Wolf of Wall Street. The overacting, twitchiness and machine gun-like spewing of anecdotes & exposition very quickly start to grate. And the inconsistencies of the story becomes quite annoying at times. One of the other characters, Mel, who rescues Lily and takes her under her wing, is given precious little backstory, which is a shame as she is a genuinely interesting part of the story who I wanted to see more of.

But I did enjoy this film, despite these issues. It is a small-budget film which has an interesting protagonist, takes chances and is never boring.

Is it OK to use lezzas and old men? - Electricity review by PW

There were two almost unbelievably kind, tolerant and understanding characters in this film, Deyn's aged employer and the lesbian woman who took her in and befriended her. Her long lost brother was on the other hand crudely unsympathetic. These

characterisations undermined a well intentioned narrative about the devastations of epilepsy and childhood traumatic experiences.

Deyn played her part well, but it wasn't a part worthy of her potential star quality.