Albatross Review

Looking for a quirky, British, coming-of-age dramedy, that though far from rubbish, isn’t quite as good as it thinks it is? Then look no further than Albatross, the debut cinematic effort for both its director and its writer, Niall MacCormick and Tamzin Rafn.

The lives of a family on the Isle of Man are turned upside down and inside out when a new cleaner, Emelia, is hired to work at their hotel. Emelia is seventeen, precocious and belligerent. She befriends the family’s bookish elder daughter Beth and begins an affair with her father, one hit wonder novelist Jonathan and events inevitably spiral out of control.

The double act between Jessica Brown-Findlay (Emelia) and rising star Felicity Jones (Beth) is the film’s strongest asset. The scenes of friendship between these two capable young actors are well-crafted and believably performed. It’s pleasing to see a relationship between two female teenagers explored properly on screen – lord knows the ‘bromance’ genre is far from lacking in material, but it seems rare that we are treated to a mature take on the female equivalent. Brown-Findlay and Jones give excellent performances that promise great things to come for both of them.

Unfortunately, whilst the adolescent characters are satisfyingly created, the same cannot be said for the adults in the film. Sebastian Koch and Julia Ormond do the best they can with their roles, but their mum and dad characters are written with shockingly broad strokes. And for a film in which two characters discuss bad writing and weak metaphors, there are some terrible instances of both in Albatross. It also flirts dangerously with pretension.

Still, it’s possible to overlook the film’s inconsistencies and enjoy it as a fairly amusing and occasionally touching drama. Additionally, it deserves innumerable plaudits for its invention of the work ‘procasturbating’.