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Review of “The Whip”: A Heist Movie Where a Carer Turns to Crime
Here’s an austerity drama made with the best of intentions on what looks like the thriftiest of budgets; so low-budget, in fact, as to almost be homemade. It’s about the plight of carers, beginning straightforwardly enough in social realist mode with frazzled full-time carer Sadie (Shian Denovan) and her disabled sister Emily (Meg Fozzard) struggling to get by. The government is introducing new welfare reforms that will make their lives harder still, but Sadie is too exhausted to join the protests. Then, as if Ken Loach were put in charge of the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, the plot takes a lurch into heist movie territory, with Sadie cracking a plot to break into parliament.
Enter government minister Michael Harrington (Tom Knight). He’s an MP in the silver fox tradition – very posh, all eyebrows. He is suffering an attack of conscience over the new legislation. But before Harrington can resign, he gets the boot from chief whip Damian Wilson (Ray Bullock Jnr), a smirking creep who keeps in his safe a little black book filled with dirt on his party’s MPs. When Sadie watches a news segment about Wilson, she decides to steal the black book, leak it to the press and bring down the government.
Within five minutes of walking into Harrington’s constituency surgery, she has recruited him to her heist. This, to be fair, is not the most sizeable implausibility here. And there are a couple of performances that feel more wooden than the panelling in the chief whip’s office. But the film, directed and co-written by Christopher Presswell, is likable enough – though I was puzzled as to why Emily, the only character with a disability, appears in just a handful of scenes. The film opens with the humiliating ritual of her being assessed for her Pip, the personal independence payment. But she is then sidelined, in what feels like a wasted opportunity to present disabled characters on screen.
• The Whip is in UK cinemas from 4 September.
Here’s a film crafted with a lot of heart and on a shoestring budget – it’s so low-budget it almost seems homemade. The story focuses on the struggles of caregivers, starting in a straightforward, social-realist manner. We meet Sadie (Shian Denovan), a full-time caregiver, and her disabled sister Emily (Meg Fozzard), both trying to make ends meet. Life is about to get even tougher for them as the government rolls out new welfare reforms. Sadie is too exhausted to join the protests against these changes. Suddenly, in a twist reminiscent of Ken Loach steering an Ocean’s Eleven film, the narrative shifts to a heist plot with Sadie planning a break-in at Parliament.
Then comes Michael Harrington (Tom Knight), a silver-fox government minister – very posh, very much the quintessential politician. Harrington is having second thoughts about the new legislation. However, before he can step down, the chief whip, Damian Wilson (Ray Bullock Jnr), an odious fellow who keeps a little black book with all sorts of dirt on his party’s MPs, gives him the boot. Saddened by Wilson’s actions, Sadie decides to steal the book, leak its contents to the media, and bring the government down.
Incredibly, within five minutes of meeting Harrington at his constituency surgery, Sadie has him on board with her plan. Believability takes a backseat in several other aspects of the plot too. For instance, some performances feel more wooden than the chief whip’s office paneling. However, the film, directed and co-written by Christopher Presswell, has its charms. One gripe, though, is the minimal screen time given to Emily, the film’s only disabled character. It starts with Emily undergoing the humiliating process of assessment for her personal independence payment (PIP), but she is then largely sidelined. This feels like a missed opportunity to present disabled characters meaningfully on screen.
The Whip will be showing in UK cinemas from 4 September.
Source: PR IMAGE
