Larry Oliver Film Reviews

Actress Alice Lowe was seven months pregnant when she filmed her directorial debut, Prevenge and took the leading role. It is the film’s raison d’être . Lowe shows off her baby bump at every available opportunity, even in the bath. It gives the film a unique selling point, but also a challenge. Lowe couldn’t exactly do re-shoots. Moreover, as directing a film is an exhausting experience even without being pregnant at the same time and appearing in every scene, Lowe could not film it over an extensive period – instead, shooting took place over 13 days. The plot is simple. After her boyfriend Matt (Marc Bessant) dies during a climbing trip – his fellow climbers having elected to cut the rope - heavily-pregnant Ruth (Lowe) goes on a killing spree, murdering those who made the decision and believing that her unborn child is telling her to act. However, the film has a rather large flaw. If there is a series of random murders across London and Cardiff, linked by the victims all having taken...

  Pictured : 'Stand and deliver. Your money or your life.' Alex of Nine Tassles ( Aneurin Barnard ) proves that chivalry is something to be scared of in writer-director-star Alice Lowe 's time hopping anti-new-romantic comedy. ' Timestalker '. Still courtesy of Vertigo Releasing (UK) Most British actresses who take a punt at directing generally stop after a single attempt. Rebecca Hall, Kristen Scott Thomas, Jessica Hynes, Dolly Wells and Romola Garai all exemplify ‘one and done’. Kudos to Alice Lowe who scores ‘two and cool’, with Timestalker , the amusing, long-in-gestation follow-up to her 2016 debut, Prevenge . Both films are comedies that stretch a single idea to breaking point. Once again, she takes the leading role, this time of Agnes, a 17 th Century lovelorn woman who falls for a performer, Alex ( Aneurin Barnard ) who is about to be put to death – her friends turn up for the gore. As he faces the rack, Alex’s mask is removed. Agnes is besotted, approa...