Perfect 10

The scenery is bucolic. The sky is blue and the grass is green. The sound of laughter fills the air and sibling rivalry fills the screen. A brother and sister race through a field. It's a scene that portrays one of those perfect little moments dotting your younger years that you'll remember for ever. And it's a scene in her debut feature length movie that shows director Eva Riley is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Leigh (Frankie Box) is a deeply unhappy young girl. She's grieving for her mother, she's an afterthought in her father's life and she's being bullied by other girls in the club where she does her gymnastics. Her coach has taken her under her wing and it's something that only deepens the other girls animosity towards her. One day in her father's house a stranger appears who turns out to be a brother she never knew she had. Joe (Alfie Deegan) is a teenage tearaway, involved with a gang of motorbike thieves but at least he's interested in getting to know his younger sister. Initially Leigh is resistant but soon he lets her into his circle of friends and she begins to really find her place in the world.

This is one of those unassuming little films that you'll be thinking about for days if not weeks after. It's a low stakes, un-showy story that eschews overt, unnecessary drama but within minutes it will be under your skin and you'll find its 80 minute running time passing by way, way too quickly. In her debut role Frankie Box just nails the part of Leigh with an effortless performance that never once feels like acting. If you, like me, were one of those teenagers who felt like they never fit in anywhere this will strike a chord with you. Leigh always feels like she's at the edge of every group, never really wanted, and willing to do stupid, dangerous things to for the opportunity to be a part, any part of a friendship. But behind it all, behind her pain and grief you can sense her strength, the resilience hiding just out of sight and it's a joy watching her succeed, even when it's to her detriment.

Perfect 10 may remind you of Andrea Arnold's 2016 masterpiece American Honey with it's story line of a lost, alienated teen clamouring to find her own path, and just like American Honey it's led by a stunning debut turn but Riley is a director smart enough to make the film her own, painting it in warm tones and giving it an air of anything can happen. Alfie Deegan as Joe gives the whole thing an edge, an unpredictability that means you can't relax and his relationship with his new found sister is constantly in flux leaving you wondering how the film will end. Will it be on a happy note, something you'll genuinely want for Leigh or something else entirely when things take a dangerous feeling turn near the end.

This is out now to stream on google movies. It's a story about inner strength that's really worth your time. Oh and the perfect 10 of the title? Does Leigh and her gymnastic skills deserve it? You be the judge of that.