Dirty God

Last updated

Dirty God
Dirty God (film).jpg
Poster
Directed by Sacha Polak
Written bySacha Polak
Susie Farrell
Produced byMichael Elliott
Marleen Slot
Starring Vicky Knight
Cinematography Ruben Impens
Edited by Sander Vos
Music byRutger Reinders
Production
companies
BBC Films
A Private View
EMU Films
Viking Film
Distributed byDark Star Pictures
The Jokers
Les Bookmakers
Cinéart
Release date
  • 23 January 2019 (2019-01-23)
Running time
90 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
Netherlands
Ireland
Belgium
LanguageEnglish
Box office$205,921

Dirty God is a 2019 internationally co-produced drama film, directed and co-written by Sacha Polak. The film marks the English language debut by Polak, and also marks the feature film debut of actress Vicky Knight. [1] Actress Vicky Knight was chosen to play the lead role from auditions of burn survivors. [2] It was selected to be screened in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2019. [3] [4] The film also won three Golden Calves for best film, best director (Polak) and best music (Rutger Reinders). [5]

Contents

Plot

A young woman, Jade (Vicky Knight), returns home from the hospital after undergoing treatment for severe burns. She is upset to see that her toddler daughter, Rae, is afraid of her due to her severe facial scarring. Jade is supported by her mother and her friends but feels awkward returning to her regular clubbing activities. Disappointed to learn that her healing is as good as it will ever be Jade contacts a surgeon in Morocco to try to undergo facial reconstruction surgery. As her mother will not loan her the money for the surgery she enlists in a dead-end job at a call centre where she befriends Flavia, another single mother. She reveals to Flavia that she was burned by Rae's father who poured acid on her when they broke up.

Jade undergoes a series of setbacks when she learns her mother has been allowing Rae to interact with her paternal grandmother. Jade's mother temporarily kicks Jade out of the house and a video of Jade masturbating is leaked at work. Desperate for the facial reconstruction surgery she steals the necessary money from her mother and leaves for Morocco with her best friend Shami, only to be disappointed when Shami brings along her boyfriend, Naz, with whom Jade had previously had a flirtation. While there Naz and Jade nearly have sex but are stopped by the arrival of Shami. Jade learns that the plastic surgery she paid for is a scam. Later Naz confesses he has real feelings for her but Jade rebuffs him out of respect for Shami. Returning home Jade wins an employee of the month award at work and reconciles with her mother.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 45 reviews, and an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As powerfully acted as it is sensitively told, Dirty God offers a timely story delivered with empathy and deeply affecting grace." [6]

Cath Clarke of The Guardian wrote, "Dirty God is Dutch director Polak's English-language debut, and it's an authentic portrait of London. Polak shoots with in-the-moment energy: in hospital wards, at a grime club, in a drab call centre where Jade gets a job to pay for surgery." [1] Nikki Baughan of Sight & Sound wrote, "Positively vibrating with barely suppressed pain, rage and injustice, Sacha Polak's Dirty God is both a sharply observed character study and a damning indictment of our skin-deep Instagram culture." [7] Hanna Flint of the Time Out wrote, "Polak follows in the footsteps of directors Andrea Arnold ('Fish Tank') and Benh Zeitlin ('Beasts of the Southern Wild') by drawing out a brilliantly nuanced performance from first-time-actor Knight, a burn victim herself." [8] Jay Weissberg of the Variety wrote, "Much attention will deservedly be paid to Knight's impressively nuanced performance – it's one thing to cast an amateur who's been through similar experiences, and quite another to get that person to inhabit a fictional character. Vulnerable, flinty, and unashamedly sexual, Knight's Jade may not be an especially likable person, but she's vibrantly real, and the newcomer brings a forceful physicality and, in her scenes with Robinson, a palpable sensuality." [9] Sophie Monks Kaufman of the Empire wrote, "An intimate portrait of a restless young woman seeking mind, body and soul comfort. Newcomer Vicky Knight is magnetic and there are flashes of kinetic brilliance despite sketchy stretches." [10]

Eric D. Snider of the CrookedMarquee criticised the film for having a thin plot and being hard to watch. And he further added "It's not quite gratuitous misery porn — it's ultimately more hopeful than that — but it's adjacent to it. Director Sacha Polak, co-writing with Susie Farrell, focuses on Jade's valiant and not-so-valiant efforts to rebuild her life and not let her injuries destroy her, but it's hard not to get bogged down in the sadness of every damn detail.", and "Knight's naturalistic performance notwithstanding, it's a hard movie to watch, and the rewards aren't sufficient. The plot is thin, and these aren't the sort of characters you want to just hang out with." [11]

Awards

The film received four nominations at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards. Vicky Knight was nominated as both Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer. Bluey Robinson was nominated as Best Supporting Actor. Morten Jacobsen, Rogier Samuels, Lindelotte Van Der Meer were nominated for Best Make Up & Hair Design. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Reyes</span> American Actress, Model and Producer (born 1967)

Judy Reyes is an American actress, model and producer, best known for her roles as Carla Espinosa on the NBC/ABC medical comedy series Scrubs (2001–2009), as Zoila Diaz in the Lifetime comedy-drama Devious Maids (2013–2016), and as Annalise "Quiet Ann" Zayas in the TNT crime comedy-drama Claws (2017—2022). Reyes also appeared in films All Together Now (2020), Smile (2022), and Birth/Rebirth (2023), for which she received Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Mackenzie (director)</span> British film director

David Mackenzie is a Scottish film director and co-founder of the Glasgow-based production company Sigma Films. He has made ten feature films including Young Adam (2003), Hallam Foe (2007), Perfect Sense (2011) and Starred Up (2013). In 2016, Mackenzie's film Hell or High Water premiered at Cannes and was theatrically released in the United States in August. The same year he executive produced Damnation, a TV pilot for Universal and USA Network. Mackenzie also directed Outlaw King (2018), a historical film for Netflix. Mackenzie and his films have been described as not fitting neatly into any particular genre or type.

Heather Rae is an American film and television producer and director. She has worked on documentary and narrative film projects, specializing in those with Native American themes, and is best known for Frozen River, Trudell and Tallulah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Kelly (actress)</span> English actress

Katherine Sinead Kelly is an English actress and presenter, who made her TV debut in 2003, appearing on Last of the Summer Wine. Kelly rose to prominence after portraying Becky McDonald in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street between 2006 and 2012. For this role, Kelly won multiple awards including a National Television Award for "Best Serial Drama Performance" in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicky McClure</span> English actress (born 1983)

Vicky Lee McClure is an English actress, model and presenter. She is known for her roles as Detective Inspector Kate Fleming in the BBC series Line of Duty (2012–2021) and Lol Jenkins in Shane Meadows' film This Is England (2006) and its Channel 4 sequel mini-series This Is England '86 (2010), This Is England '88 (2011), and This Is England '90 (2015). Before This is England, she appeared in another of Meadows' films, A Room for Romeo Brass (1999), where she played Ladine. She won the RTS Award and British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Lol in This is England '86 in 2011.

<i>An Education</i> 2009 film directed by Lone Scherfig

An Education is a 2009 coming-of-age drama film based on a memoir of the same name by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby. It stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David, the charming conman who seduces her. The film was nominated for 3 Academy Awards in 2010: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay for Nick Hornby, and Best Actress for Carey Mulligan.

<i>Donkey Punch</i> (2008 film) 2008 British film by Olly Blackburn

Donkey Punch is a 2008 British horror thriller film directed by Olly Blackburn and written by Blackburn and David Bloom. Starring Nichola Burley, Sian Breckin, Tom Burke, Jaime Winstone and Julian Morris, it follows a group of English people on holiday in Spain who end up fighting for their lives.

Sally El-Hosaini is a Welsh-Egyptian BAFTA nominated film director and screenwriter.

Ella Rae Peck is an American actress. She portrayed the roles of Charlotte "Lola" Rhodes in The CW series Gossip Girl and Mia Bowers in the NBC series Deception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manjinder Virk</span> English actress

Manjinder Virk is a British actress, director and writer. She has appeared in the television series Holby City (1999), Doctors (2000), The Bill (2004), The Ghost Squad (2005), Runaway (2009), Skins (2010), Monroe (2011), Hunted (2012) and Midsomer Murders.

<i>Brooklyn</i> (film) 2015 film directed by John Crowley

Brooklyn is a 2015 romantic period drama film directed by John Crowley and written by Nick Hornby, based on the 2009 novel of the same name by Colm Tóibín. A co-production between the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada, it stars Saoirse Ronan in the lead role, with Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, and Julie Walters in supporting roles. The plot follows Eilis Lacey, a young Irishwoman who immigrates to Brooklyn in the early 1950s to find employment. After building a life there, she is drawn back to her home town of Enniscorthy and has to choose where she wants to forge her future. Principal photography began in April 2014 with three weeks of filming in Ireland, which were followed by four weeks in Montreal, Quebec; only two days of filming took place in Brooklyn, one of which was spent at the beach in Coney Island.

<i>Last Days in the Desert</i> 2015 American film

Last Days in the Desert is a 2015 American drama film directed and written by Rodrigo García. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Tye Sheridan, Ciarán Hinds and Ayelet Zurer.

Ruben Impens is a Belgian cinematographer. He works in Flanders and is best known for his work with Felix Van Groeningen, having worked on the entirety of Van Groeningen's feature filmography. He has worked on feature films, short films, documentaries and television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacha Polak</span> Dutch film director

Sacha Polak is a Dutch film director.

The 2019 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 24 to February 3, 2019. The first lineup of competition films was announced on November 28, 2018.

<i>The Souvenir</i> 2019 film by Joanna Hogg

The Souvenir is a 2019 drama film written and directed by Joanna Hogg. A semi-autobiographical account of Hogg's experiences at film school, it stars Honor Swinton Byrne, Tom Burke and Tilda Swinton.

<i>The Last Tree</i> (film) 2019 film

The Last Tree is a 2019 British drama film directed by Shola Amoo. It premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the UK on 27 September 2019.

Vicky Knight is an English film actress and hospital healthcare assistant. She has starred in Too Ugly For Love (2014) and Dirty God (2019). Knight debuted as an actress from Sacha Polak's Dirty God, where she played an acid attack victim. Her role in Dirty God was met with critical acclaim.

Lucy Pardee is a British casting director, who is an exponent of street casting. Pardee used this to great effect in her work on Rocks, for which she was awarded a BAFTA for Casting Direction in 2021. She was the second person to receive the accolade since its introduction in 2019, when it was awarded to Shayna Markowitz. Pardee was nominated for second BAFTA award in 2022 for her work on the film Aftersun. She has spoken out about how the Academy Awards should also introduce an award for casting direction.

<i>Silver Haze</i> (film) 2023 British-Dutch drama film

Silver Haze is a 2023 British-Dutch co-production drama film, written and directed by Sacha Polak and starring Vicky Knight, Esmé Creed-Miles, Charlotte Knight, Archie Brigden and Angela Bruce. The film follows 23-year-old Franky, a nurse who, obsessed with a thirst for revenge and a need to assign guilt for a traumatic event that happened 15 years before, is unable to build any meaningful relationship until she falls in love with one of her patients – Florence.

References

  1. 1 2 Clarke, Cath (6 June 2019). "Dirty God review – brave debut powers acid-attack drama". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. ↑ Dalton, Ben. "First look at Sacha Polak's acid attack drama 'Dirty God' (exclusive)". Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Sundance Unveils Politics-Heavy Lineup Featuring Ocasio-Cortez Doc, Feinstein Drama". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "dirty-god". www.sundance.org. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Drie Gouden Kalveren voor 'Dirty God' | NOS". Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Dirty God (2019)", Rotten Tomatoes , Fandango , retrieved 10 October 2021
  7. ↑ "Dirty God review: Sacha Polak fleshes out a burn survivor's story | Sight & Sound". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  8. ↑ "Dirty God (2019), directed by Sacha Polak | Film review". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  9. ↑ Weissberg, Jay (28 January 2019). "Rotterdam Film Review: 'Dirty God'". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  10. ↑ "Dirty God". Empire. 5 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  11. ↑ "Sundance Review: Dirty God". CrookedMarquee. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  12. ↑ "Nominations · BIFA · British Independent Film Awards". BIFA · British Independent Film Awards. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.