Lenny Abrahamson

What Richard Did

of youngsters are wholesome beings. Leading them is Richard, a star school sports star, both polite and sociable, and raised from a good family. A sudden dark event, however, changes Richard’s very promising future for good. The foreboding title and structure of the film demands thatthat to feel the full effect of thedrama that the audience must knowas little as possible about how thestory plays out. In the quiet and melancholic build-up about Richard’s blossom-ing relationship with local girl Lara, there is a real authenticity about

This tense and gripping youth drama is a welcome reminder that even a well-constructed chamber piece can be as much of a white- knuckle ride as an equally well- made action thriller. Capturing the fun and frolics of small group of Irish teenagers, you could be forgiven for thinking that What Richard Did is Skins-goes-serious. Though there is some teenage recklessness, in actuality this group

Words ByJack Jones

‘an engrossing study of regret and how quickly’

a perfect life can unravel’

‘an engrossing study of regret and how quickly’

how the actors present young love. Inane conversations and dorky remarks define their early relationship. And to all tense and purposes, Richard is a son any parent would be proud of. But like many early romances, love leads to jealousy and obsession. Bad habits creep into Richard’s behaviour as he starts noticing clues of infidelity. Crucially, Abrahamson never makes anything

explicit. Playing into Richard’s occassional paranoia over Lara. In the end, What Richard Did is an engrossing study of regret and how quickly a perfect life can unravel. With that, Lenny Abrahamson seems to have drawn on Barry Levinson’s Sleepers for themes of deep-seated guilt and painful acts of childhood naivety. You can also feel Richard playing out in his mind how life was

meant to be in the same manner that Edward Norton envisages an alternate path for his life in Spike Lee’s 25th Hour. In these moments Abrahamson makes you feel the overwhelming pain and torment of his title character. The overall subtle nature of direction plays into the film’s mostly improvised script. There’s rarely any histrionics or overplaying ofperformance from the young cast

and David Grennan’s downcast cinematography results in a necessary foreboding atmosphere from the very outset. With such an outstandingyoung cast, it’s to his credit that JackRaynor’s performance as Richard stands out. Balancing perfectly thewarm charisma of his character withthe trauma of the film’s story showshe’s a talent to watch out for.