EIFF 2011: Ghosted

 

Prison drama Ghosted sees sinister head-honcho jailbird Clay (Craig Parkinson) and quiet, just-want-to-do-my-time-guv con Jack (John Lynch) vie for the soul of the new kid on the wing, Paul (Martin Compston). There’s violence, grasses and ambivalent screws aplenty... so far, so standard. Great performances from Compston and Lynch producing a multi-layered dynamic between their characters and claustrophobic, intense photography distinguish this from the average TV show, but Viveiros the director is often let down by Viveiros the writer. Some hackneyed, soapy dialogue and inappropriate use of flashback and home video footage offer the audience release from the confines and discomfort of incarceration, with the interesting musings on fate and destiny also undermined by Art Malik (snaffling the ‘Wise Old Sage’ role in a film he exec produced) spelling everything out with the few lines he has. A solid piece, with elements of flair and visceral power, though it would have been better served by maintaining its ambiguity.