Departure
classified 15 SPlease note: This was screened in June 2016
When a young man and his mother clear away their French country house, the last thing he expects to find in the sleepy village is romance. This exquisite debut feature from British filmmaker Andrew Steggall is a tender coming-of-age story about a young boy realising his sexuality at the same time as his family life is unraveling at the seams.
Elliot (Alex Lawther, X + Y, The Imitation Game) is a wispy dreamer who, with his mother Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson), is packing up their French country house in preparation to sell it. But there is a melancholic air to their efforts and a forced companionship from Beatrice who insists on having dinners with her distant son. Taking breaks and keen to get away from his mother's uncertain presence, Elliot takes regular wanders through the leafy woods and the picturesque local town whereupon he meets a French boy, Clément. As natural as Elliot is awkward, the pair develop an unlikely friendship – and in the case of Elliot, also a crush.
Elegantly crafted and featuring excellent performances from both Lawther and Stevenson, a feeling of longing, loneliness and nostalgia for a sense of family that may have never existed permeate this delicate gem.