The Comedian
Starring: Ed Hogg, Elisa Lasowski, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
Director: Tom Shkolnik
Rating: 3.5/5
If you are looking for a movie that is different to anything else on the big screen this week then look no further than The Comedian.
The movie marks the directorial debut of Tom Shkolnik and it is a bold, script-less project that could well see Shkolnik go on to greater thing.
Ed is a stand up comedian in his early thirties, he is handsome, charming, witty and lost. Trying to make it on the London comedy circuit, he spends his nights performing in small rooms above pubs and his days making ends meet at a call centre.
He lives with Elisa, a beautiful French singer, the two like brother and sister, inseparable, loving and asexual. Ed funny and playful, Elisa soulful and sensitive.
One day, on a night bus home, Ed meets Nathan, a young black artist, blunt, honest and free. They immediately connect and begin a passionate affair.
Suddenly the intimate bond between Ed and Elisa is threatened and Ed is faced with a choice between his attraction to a man and his love for a woman.
The Comedian is bold and brave filmmaking and acting that really has to be applauded as together Shkolnik and the cast built the characters and the story as they were going along.
The lack of a script and the improvised nature of the acting has allowed the director to try and capture a more natural rhythm of life; you really don't know what is around the next corner.
The Comedian is a fantastic character study of three young people trying to make their way in the world and find out who they are along the way.
There is a very real and raw feel to the three central performances and Hogg, Lasowski and Stewart-Jarrett have created something very poignant and real together.
The lack of script gives the movie a very uncertain nature as it tries to capture that aspect of life. Just when you think that you have got a grip of the story and the characters the director takes you off down a completely different path.
At times the film can feel a little slow but that doesn't detract in any way from what they were trying to achieve with this film.
The Comedian is a great watch that is charming, poignant, raw and real - and you won't see too many movies like that this summer.
The Comedian is out now