Mark Kermode 

Here and Now review – tender and convincing

Lisle Turner's tale of teenage self-discovery is a pastoral, positive, low-key affair, writes Mark Kermode
  
  

here and now review
Andy Rush and Lauren Johns in Here and Now: 'rewardingly gentle'. Photograph: PR

Everything changes in this tale of town meets country, as stroppy inner-city teen Grace (Lauren Johns) is gradually seduced by the lyrical charms of the Wye valley and the introverted appeal of rural recluse "Say" (Andy Rush). Initially reluctant to be involved in anything even vaguely resembling a family holiday, Grace starts to discover her true self away from the accoutrements of a streetwise lifestyle. As the headphones come off and real life filters in, urban noise gives way to fiddles played under trees and harmonicas echoing around caves, with Will Humphris's gorgeous pastoral cinematography making the most of the end-of-summer scenery. Although this remains a low-key affair, there's real tenderness in the scenes between the mismatched central couple, while the adults face up to melancholic loss in convincing fashion. The denouement flirts uneasily with melodrama, but the overall tone is rewardingly gentle and surprisingly positive.

 

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