Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee
Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee
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By Matt Hallam. |  |
Tuesday, 06, Oct 2009 02:44
Directed by Shane Meadows, out October 9th in cinemas, starring Paddy Considine, Scor-zay-zee, Olivia Colman, Richard Graham, running time 71 mins.
In a nutshell...
Hilarious and heart-breaking DIY movie
What's it all about?
This Is England's Shane Meadows reteams with the great Paddy Considine for this handmade mockumentary shot in just five days. Considine stars as lovelorn roadie Le Donk, shepherding aspiring rapper Scor-zay-zee (himself) to the Arctic Monkeys shows at Old Trafford in the hope of showcasing the portly rhymesmith's talent - and maybe realising his own dreams in the process.
As an example...
"I feel like Donnie Darko, going in to infiltrate the Mafia." - Le Donk
What the others say
"Considine and Meadows are on top form.. sit back and enjoy." - Times
"Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, Scorsese & De Niro, Torvill & Dean, Considine & Meadows. A monumental mockumentary from Brit cinema's premier director/actor double act. True, daft, emotional, hilarious." - Nev Pierce, Empire
So is it any good?
The do-it-yourself ethos behind the film might be irrepressibly punk but this is less about on-the-go filmmaking than a second chance for an unlikely rap star and the confirmation that Considine and Meadows are the ludicrously talented Midlands' answer to De Niro and Scorsese (the director, in this case).
Out on DVD this month, it's destined for cult status, with an endlessly quotable script and, in Le Donk, a comedy creation to rival the best work of Gervais or Coogan - it's no surprise that according to Considine and Meadows, Coogan had seen early tapes of Considine in character as Le Donk before fashioning his old world-weary roadie in the form of Tommy Saxondale.
As Meadows admits while breaking the fourth wall, it's not like his other films, and neither the social realism of Twentyfourseven and This Is England, not the gritty, sinister feel of Dead Man's Shoes and A Room for Romeo Brass are evident here. Instead, Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee echoes the threadbare feel of 2008's Channel Tunnel-funded Somers Town. In among the loveable characters and on-the-hoof, improvised approach, lies immense pathos. "Laugh-a-minute" is a literal, rather than a clichéd appraisal of the film, whether Scorz is trying to find batteries, Le Donk debating the merits of online parenting or the pair tackling a revolving door. But alongside the hilarity are several heartbreaking moments, with Considine's ability to wholly inhabit a character eliciting huge sympathy for Le Donk, even when the manchild behaviour that probably caused his split with the mother of his unborn child (Olivia Colman) nears the point of irritation. And for Scor-zay-zee's part - he might look like a lumbering teddy bear, but he's clearly an MC blessed with no small ability.
That the film was shot in only five days and shot in story order, yet is brilliantly acted, intelligently shot and consistently funny, shows just how lucky we are to be living in a time when two of the most talented minds in British film are at the peak of their powers.
8/10
Lewis Bazley