Scrapper is a gentle new British film debut written and directed by Charlotte Regan. Twelve-year-old Georgie (bright newcomer Lola Campbell) has recently been orphaned by the death of her single mother. To avoid going into care, she convinces social services and her school that a fake uncle, ‘Winston Churchill’, is looking after her. She lives alone on a council estate in East London, does the housework, hangs out with her best friend Ali (a talented Alin Azun), deals with her grief, and funds her scrappy life by stealing bicycles and selling them to dealers. Her days are spent ducking and diving from various authorities, fighting with other girls from school, and just about surviving.
Then her estranged father Jason (the brilliant up-and-coming star Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats, The King’s Man, Triangle of Sadness)) turns up at the house to look after her. Jason has just moved back to the UK from Ibiza. The two have never met, Georgie having been born when handsome Jason was eighteen years old, and, not being mature enough to be a parent, was swiftly disposed of by Georgie’s late mother. What follows is a poetic journey through an English summer as the often-hapless father and daughter get to know each other, as well as respectfully learning how to be a parent and a daughter to each other.
Scrapper continues the fine British tradition of social realism film set in the summer in poor, yet mellow housing environments. Regan combines beautiful cinematography with a sharp focus on the film’s characters and their relationships, rather than unnecessary plot lines. She also avoids any temptation to over-develop her characters, giving us simple people just muddling through life. A light-filled feel-good film.
Queerguru’s Contributing Editor Ris Fatah is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant (when he can be bothered) who divides and wastes his time between London and Ibiza. He is a lover of all things queer, feminist, and human rights in general. @ris.fatah
