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Category: The Low Down

THE LOW DOWN

Director:  Jamie Thraves

Year of Release:  2000

 In my humble opinion Aidan’s best films are the independent ones, I think they best suit his sensibilities and, as a result, bring the best out of him as an actor. This and Treacle Jnr, are two of my favourite Aidan films, are both directed by Jamie Thraves with whom he became friends. Along with many Aidan fans I am hoping that one day their third collaboration, Pick Ups, will be released.

Set in London, The Low Down focuses on a group of friends and their relationships, largely with each other. Aidan plays Frank who shares a flat with his friend Terry, located in an area that Frank himself admits is less that desirable. Although Frank has the means to move on, should he choose to, he seems to be stuck in a rut.

He decides he needs to move out and find a home of his own, whilst doing so he strikes up a relationship with estate agent employee Ruby. Both characters have trust issues and find it hard to express their feelings, Frank is certainly cruel to Ruby at times, and appears to be trying to push her away.

Meanwhile, at work, where he makes props for TV shows, his friends Mike and John are at odds, creative differences appearing to tear them apart, as their lives seemed destined to head in different directions. Mike is looking to settle down with girlfriend Lisa, whilst John is yearning to push his creativity to a more experimental level.

The look of the film and the London that is portrayed is similar to that of ‘Safe’ although they are vastly different in terms of context.  There are also, of course, many similarities to Treacle Jnr, and both films share at least one significant location.

Aidan’s performance is low key and restrained as befits the film, which makes one rare outburst of frustration more poignant.  Frank is a complex character, and at times not entirely likeable but Aidan’s natural charms mean that you are rooting for him to sort his life out. It’s easy to see how this move led to Aidan bagging the ‘Best British Newcomer’ award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2000, although, shouldn’t that really be ‘Best IRISH Newcomer’!

At just over 90 minutes long the film is concise, although, I guess in terms of storytelling, the pace is fairly leisurely, perfect for what is essentially, a character study, as opposed to an action fest, and you remain engaged throughout. I must admit to having to watch this film several times in order to fully understand what was going on, having been distracted by too many close ups of Aidan’s gorgeous blue eyes (not a bad thing in any film!)

In short, this is on my ‘must watch’ list for any Aidan fan, a great piece of storytelling with an engaging central performance from Aidan, what more could you want from a film. A little bit of trivia to end on, Dean Lennox Kelly, who plays Mike in The Low Down is the brother of Craig Kelly who plays Vince in Queer as Folk.