Two for Joy (2018)

Director: Tom Beard

Writer: Tom Beard (Screenplay)

Starring: Samantha Morton, Billie Piper, Bella Ramsey, Emilia Jones, Daniel Mays, Ibinabo Jack, David Elliot, Badger Skelton

Plot: A troubled family’s problems come to a head during a stay in a seaside town.

Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Truly Fantastic

Story: Two for Joy starts as a small family, mother Aisha (Morton) and children Violet (Jones) and Troy (Skelton) are living the poor life with their own problems, with Aisha struggling with depression, Troy falling in with the wrong crowd and Vi just trying to hold things together.

The three go on a low budget family holiday by the seaside to get away from the troubles back home, here they meet Lillah (Piper) and Miranda (Ramsey) another family with their own problems too and caretaker Lias (Mays) tries to put a positive spin on the caravan site.

Thoughts on Two For Joy

Characters – Aisha is the mother is Vi and Troy, she is stuck in deep depression after the death of her husband, their father, she struggles with everyday tasks leading to leave Vi in charge of the household chores. She does take the children to the caravan to escape for a while, which does try to help her have communication with other adults. Vi short for Violet is the eldest daughter of Aisha, she is the one trying to hold the family together, she will do everything she can while trying to escape the life with her studies too, she desperately needs a friend. Troy is the youngster child of the family, he likes to fish, only he has started to hang around a troublesome older boy that has put gotten him in trouble. Lillah is a fellow single mother that has used the caravan home to escape the traumas of back home, she doesn’t have much control over her daughter, while her brother tries to help her escape the abusive father. Miranda is Lillah’s daughter, she takes a shine to Troy and sees him as somebody she can have adventures with, she does come off like a bratty figure, but it is clear she is dealing with the depression of not having her father around and what he did to her. Lias runs the caravan camp, he only has two visitors and tries his best to make sure they are all having a good time there.

Performances – Samantha Morton gives us a brilliant performance as the mother who has nearly given up hope on her life, we believe the struggles she is facing too. Billie Piper and Daniel Mays complete the adult cast as they both shine too. It is Emilia Jones which give the standout of a stunning performance piece here, as she must hide the pain, she is feeling to remain strong even with nobody around her. Bella Ramsey and Badger Skelton complete the cast and shine on an equal level to the rest of the cast.

Story – The story follows the lives of two broken families that are spending time at a seaside caravan site, they are the only ones here, they must use the time to try and help each other accept what has happened and move on with their lives only for one moment to become the catalyst for the biggest change. If you did see the movie ‘The Florida Project’ you will understand what you will be experience, with the children struggle to find things to do, while the parents have almost given up on their own endeavours. The story is bleak and full of darkness when it comes to everything that we go through, we touch on real matters that don’t always get talked about, especially when the people are going through the problems, this will test your emotional levels through the film.

Settings – The film has a couple of settings, first the housing area which shows how close the family is living close to poverty and just waiting to fall into troubles, before we move to seaside resort that shows us just where the poor families will spend holidays.

Scene of the Movie – The boat trip.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – There are certain parts of the Lillah relationship we could have seen more from.

Final Thoughts – This is one of the best dramas you will see this year, it will play on the emotions of the audience and leave you emotionally exhausted by the end of the film.

Overall: Essential viewing.

Rating