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SUNDANCE 2023 World Cinema Dramatic Competition

Review: Scrapper

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- Charlotte Regan’s drama is sweet, endearing and so predictable that you will think you have already seen it

Review: Scrapper
Lola Campbell in Scrapper

Timing, however unfair, is everything in cinema, as in the wake of the absolute heartbreak that we experienced in the knockout Aftersun [+see also:
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by Charlotte Wells, it feels a bit too early for another tale about an absent father and his daughter, however adorable it may be. Scrapper [+see also:
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– directed by Charlotte Regan and placed in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, where it has just won the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize (see the news) – is adorable and then some, with its bright colours and a tiny protagonist that screams Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon or Star Wars’ scavenger Rey. She’s resourceful and doesn’t suffer fools gladly, especially those who will buy that she is living “with her uncle, Winston Churchill”. She is alone, after her mother’s death, and tries to pay the rent by stealing bikes. She is only 12 years old.

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What could have been a rather grim story, another bout of kitchen-sink torture, is actually surprisingly light. It’s not easy out there for kids, but that’s what they are: kids. They will eat sweets and name house spiders (christening them Napoleon and Alexander the Great, for example), and only sometimes sneak out for a cry. Georgie (Lola Campbell) misses her mum, a lot, but she doesn’t need to share this news with her mate (Alin Uzun). Instead, she is trying to toughen up, day by day, until another child shows up out of the blue: her dad, Jason (Triangle of Sadness [+see also:
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interview: Ruben Östlund
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’s Harris Dickinson).

It’s funny how it feels like there is no age difference between these two: they bicker and play silly games, and eye each other suspiciously. But there is a serious decision hovering over all of this, one that Jason might not be ready to make. After all, he wasn’t ready before. And how is he even supposed to replace a woman who would literally make it seem like the sky was always bright blue, even inside the house?

Then again, it’s not really about replacing something, or someone; it’s about opening up, admitting that you can be strong and need people. These are familiar observations, and Regan covers well-trodden territory in her film – there is really nothing to be done about that, despite the decent performances and upbeat mood. With Scrapper running at just 84 minutes, all of these recognisable beats don’t become too tiring, luckily, and there is still a certain pleasure that comes from the background. From children wondering if their surprise visitor is a vampire or maybe a gangster (definitely a gangster), or annoyed neighbours (“He thinks he is in 8 Mile!”) complaining about Jason’s oddly bleached hair. And that new duo from hell, good to each other yet horrible to everyone else.

Scrapper was produced by Theo Barrowclough and DMC Film Ltd (UK), with the BFI and BBC Film also on board. Its world sales are overseen by Charades.

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