PERFECT 10

★★★★

OUT 7 AUGUST / DIGITAL / CERT 15 / 83 MINS

DIRECTOR Eva Riley CAST Frankie Box, Alfie Deegan

Both filmmaker Eva Riley and young talent Frankie Box make bold debuts with this astutely observed story about a neglected teenager cast adrift in a small Brighton community. Following the death of her mother and with a largely absent father, 15-year-old gymnast Leigh (Box) is starved of human connection until she’s introduced to her cocky halfbrother Joe (Alfie Deegan). Serving as a balm for her loneliness, Joe draws a willing Leigh into his world of small-time theft, despite placing them both at risk. Both Box and Deegan deliver brittle yet vulnerable performances and maintain a mesmerising rapport, and Riley delivers a tender character study that pokes deep into the corners of neglect, yet still manages to summon hope.