Rent Electricity (2014)

Too much static but one crackling saving grace - Electricity review by CP Customer

It seems odd to say this about an actress with a very short acting career, but this is very much a star vehicle. This is very much Agyness Deyn's film. Best known for her modelling career to date, with only a couple of previous minor roles, this film stands or falls on her acting ability for she is in virtually every scene in a film which revolves entirely around her character. The good news is she sparkles, the bad news is the script (based on a novel) does not. The story has too many implausible events (strangers being taken into homes for example) to resonate. Miss Deyn's has 4 films in the can since then, and based on this evidence will have many more. With a bit of care in choosing her scripts, she could go far.

rubbish - Electricity review by CP Customer

this is one piece of crap, and I know I didn't order it, if for no other reason, its not blue ray! The subject matter is not, for several reasons, something I would select.

I really have had enough of your cheating swindling nonsence.

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.