Set over 48 hours in London, SURGE is a raw, anxiety-filled thriller starring the brilliant Ben Whishaw.
Joseph, so compellingly played by Ben Whishaw, is an airport security guard, repeating the same simple mundane tasks at work day in and day out, slowly becoming more and more anxious and demoralized. His is a numb existence, devoid of feeling and meaning. He has no real friends at work or outside of work and lives alone. The few relationships he has, like those with his parents, are very intense, and somewhat joyless. Like many men, he has difficulty in communicating his feelings, and one day snaps, completely losing the plot at work and walks out of his job and into a 24 hour period of chaos on the streets of London. The working of Joseph’s mind sharply changes from being based on analytical day-to-day decision-making and reasoning to being based purely on animalistic instinct, rapidly leading to crazier and crazier scenarios.
Surge is the strong feature-length debut of director Aneil Karia, who co-wrote the script alongside Rita Kalnejais and Rupert Jones. Karia and Whishaw first worked together about 8 years ago on the short movie Beat, and Surge has evolved out of that. The script really reflects the lonely, angst-ridden lives of many people in dead-end jobs everywhere. In this film Karia shines a light on those people living on the periphery of society, largely invisible in big cities. He also highlights the tension and thrill of living outside ‘normality’- the bubbling underbelly of chaos in society. Increased solitary living and the gradual erosion of social and official support networks means that more and more people these days fall into Joseph’s demographic.
Whishaw gives a very accomplished performance of Joseph’s chaotic dance around town. He is equally at home in very crazy scenes of destruction as he is in more tender moments such as those with Joseph and his mother. Whishaw skillfully supplements the minimal script with very dramatic body language – jerking, grimacing and staring intently in scene after scene as we watch his extreme journey – his facial expressions telling us more than his words. A special performance is also made by Ellie Haddington, who plays Joseph’s mother.
Tujiko Noriko’s intense score perfectly complements Stuart Bentley’s dark, often hand-held cinematography. A very muted ‘blue collar’ color palette also helps set the tone of the movie.
This movie is a great comment on today’s increasingly anxious, lonely society, and a good study on behavior led by analysis and that led by instinct. Surge is the right name for this movie…scene after scene surges with adrenalin and energy, and we never know what is going to happen next. Highly recommended.
Surge premiered at last year’s Sundance film festival. It was released in the UK in May and launches this September 24th across the US.
Review: Queerguru’s newest contributor Ris Fatah (when he can be bothered) is a successful fashion/luxury business consultant 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
