Director’s crime thriller inspired by brother who has Down syndrome
Film director Ben Reid was on a mission with his already awardwinning short Innocence. Now in the running to be considered for an Oscar, the 20-minute gritty crime thriller was inspired by and dedicated to his brother Tom, who has Down syndrome.
The plot sees a young man with Down syndrome become prime suspect after the death of a care home worker, writes Sue Wilkinson.
“My brother Tom has Down syndrome. We share a deep love of cinema and have spent many happy hours watching films together.
“Our favourite genre has always been crime. However, the more crime films Tom and I watched, and we watched a lot, the more Tom became aware that the heroes in these films never looked like him,” said Ben, an acclaimed award-winning director of documentaries and docudrama.
“Neither did the villains – and Tom loves a villain. When we did occasionally see a character with Down syndrome, they were often the victim – poor souls, wrongly accused. Never the lead protagonist, choosing their own destiny, rather than having it foisted upon them.
“This drove me to make Innocence, giving Tom the character he’s always been denied and shining a light on the fact people with Down syndrome are more capable and intelligent than most people believe,” he said.
Tom was frustrated at people with Down syndrome being patronised and stereotyped as kind-hearted.
“He’s a rebel by heart, and he wanted to see rebels like himself on screen,” said Ben.
“I wanted to give Tom the character he craved and show just what actors with Down syndrome are capable of when the gloves are off and they are given the challenging lead roles they crave and deserve.
“People with Down syndrome, just like you and me, have wants, have needs, have desires and have passions. They have the ability to do good things to do bad things and be morally ambiguous.”
Mission accomplished as Tom, who has a cameo in Innocence, loves the film.
Playing the main character of Dylan is Tommy Jessop, an actor with Down syndrome.
Ben saw him in the BAFTA-nominated BBC drama Coming Down the Mountain in which he played opposite Nicholas Hoult.
“The central character of Dylan demanded an actor was was able to be sensitive and warm but also defiant and strong,” said Ben.
“In Tommy Jessop we found an actor who encapsulated all of those qualities.”
The two men share a love of football – Ben is a Liverpool supporter and Tommy supports Newcastle – which led to good humoured banter.
“We inspired each other,” said Ben. “He is not overly trained and surprised us by