EIFF 2014: Hellion

Film Review by Stephen Carty | 24 Jun 2014
Film title: Hellion
Director: Kat Candler
Starring: Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis, Josh Wiggins, Deke Garner

Hellion is a low-key family drama that explores grief and responsibility. Former Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul features as Hollis, a boozy single parent who’s been absent — both emotionally and physically — since the death of his wife. The film’s title, however, refers to Hollis’s son Jacob (Josh Wiggins), an angry 13-year-old whose delinquent behaviour has left him one incident away from juvenile detention. As a result of the former’s absence and the latter’s behaviour, Child Services decide to take Jacob’s impressionable younger brother (Deke Garner) and place him in the custody of their well-adjusted aunt (Juliette Lewis).

What follows is familiar indie fare, but writer-director Kat Candler renders the story — which is an expansion of her own six-minute short — with an arresting sense of authenticity and naturalism. Admittedly, the narrative is a little on the shapeless side, and a pivotal third act sequence feels like it belongs in a less believable film. But the performances are strong enough to paper over the cracks, with a bushy-bearded Paul delivering a typically affecting display of internal anguish, while newcomer Wiggins offers an impressive debut as the young troublemaker.

Hellion has its International Premiere at Edinburgh International Film Festival

24 Jun, 6pm, Cineworld

25 Jun, 6.15pm, Cineworld

http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/films/2014/hellion