Buttercup Bill (2014) Reviews

• The old 'dark secrets of childhood' plot, but with lots of cigarettes

  euroGary2015-09-11

  The immediate impression I formed about 'Buttercup Bill' is how croaky are the voices of lead actors Evan Louison and - especially - Rémy Bennett. But if they smoke as many cigarettes in real life as do their characters in this American indie production, it's hardly surprising... When her childhood friend Flora commits suicide, Pernilla (Bennett) leaves behind her hedonistic city life of drink, drugs, and sex with grotty strangers in nightclub toilets (classy) to seek out Patrick (Louison), who although friend to both the girls, was far closer to Pernilla. As an adult, Patrick is far from a model of upstanding citizenship, but he has found religion - the run-down bungalow in which he lives is stuffed with religious knick-knacks. The pair soon fall back into the roles they played as children, an unhealthy relationship in which Patrick took the lead and Flora was their victim. Of the two central performances, I find Bennett's portrayal of a lost, confused soul the most convincing. This may be because as co-writer/co-director she feels closer to the work, and also because it would have been difficult for Louison to play the manipulative Patrick *without* seeming creepy. Prior to the Big Revelation at the end, the film trundles along without going anywhere for most of its 96 minutes, but is interesting enough. However, I fear the level of success it will ultimately achieve may be indicated by the fact that when I saw it, I was the only person in the cinema...

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