A lean, compelling digi-thriller, "This is Not a Love Song" explores themes of friendship, loyalty and revenge through a story torn from today's headlines.
Released from clink after a four-month stretch, Spike (Michael Colgan) is picked up by his pal Heaton (Kenny Glenaan). Bitter over not being visited, the garrulous oik is nonetheless delighted to see his older friend, who he dubs "Central" (think about it), much to his irritation.
Hitting the road in a stolen motor, they soon run out of juice, and seek help on a local farm, whose gun-toting tenant is less than hospitable. Tragedy strikes and they go on the run: trekking through woods, over desolate moor, tracked by Bellamy (David Bradley) and a posse of vengeance-bent farmers.
The jumping off point for screenwriter Simon Beaufoy ("The Full Monty") is clearly the case of Tony Martin - the recluse who shot two people, killing one, when they burgled his Norfolk home. Beaufoy lays bare the "they deserved it" attitude of The Daily Mail et al, personifying it in the icy, respected Bellamy, whose view of justice is decidedly Old Testament.
Another biblical story comes to mind, of King David and Jonathan - the friends so close some question their sexuality. Spike and Heaton bicker and fight, but their platonic relationship is bound by love - their desperate flight punctuated by moments of touching tenderness (perhaps only unashamedly captured because the director, Bille Eltringham, is a woman).
The actors are excellent (particularly Glenaan), while the low-budget is belied by smart use of digital photography, which only occasionally lapses into film school-style gimmickry.
The result lacks the eccentricity of the superficially similar "The Last Great Wilderness", but has a good deal more depth of feeling. It is refreshingly humane and ambiguous, treating everyone - criminal and country boy alike - as people, not stereotypes.
It's a taut chase flick: "Southern Comfort", UK-style.
It can be viewed online at the .
This is Not a Love Song (2003)
