Bitesize LFF Review: Wasteman
An unrelenting directorial debut about life in a prison, survival and hopes for release.
Wasteman was the first film I watched at London Film Festival and my third ever press screening! Needless to say, it’s been such an exhausting week so far. When this is published, it will be on my day off as I burnt out a little. This was drafted and ready to be published, but every time I thought about it, I kept forgetting. Rushing between venues and screenings, eating tuna pasta salad dinners or lunches or catching up with friends.
Other pieces I have on LFF coming up include a bite-sized review of The Fence, two longer reviews on Bad Apples and Palestine 36 and a LFF week 1 wrap-up with short reviews for each of the films I managed to see. I am also live posting about my LFF experience on my social media platforms - aaminahthroughthescreen on TikTok and Instagram. Apologies for the huge gap in between this post and the last post, it’s been an incredibly busy time for me.
Wasteman is Cal McMau’s debut feature and with a 90-minute runtime which keeps you tense throughout. Starring David Jonnson as Taylor, a parolee who wants a fresh start which is threatened by the arrival of his new cellmate, Dee played by Tom Blyth.
David Jonnson and Tom Blyth deliver two incredible performances, proving their status as the some of the best actors in their generation. Jonnson’s Taylor is a shrinking violent. He avoids drama and violence and wants to get through his sentence with little trouble. Disparagingly referred to as a nitty, he also struggles with addiction. Whereas Blyth’s Dee is the complete opposite. Domineering, sociopathic and an intensity that cannot help make you feel sympathetic to Taylor for having to contend with such a cellmate who threatens his release.
The film was an uncomfortable watch. Being set in a prison, it is a gritty film which does not shy away from what people are capable of doing when they need to survive. And in my press screening, during moments where I was horrified and in shock, I could hear laughter which surprised me. Funny moments are found in the film, but similar to Anora, there are some moments people will laugh at which I did not find at all. The opposite really. There are some incredible moments, particularly the exchanges between Blyth’s Dee and Jonnson’s Taylor which standout because both characters are the complete opposite of each other. Yet they strike up a mutual understanding, which comes under threat after a viscous attack.
The film’s cinematography is incredible. It alternates the lingering shots which highlights the loneliness of prison for Taylor who keeps to himself to avoid trouble juxtaposed with phone camera footage of prisoners fighting, playing up to the camera and creating trouble.
This was the first film of London Film Festival for me and I enjoyed it. Enjoy may be the wrong word, but it was a well-made film with two strong leading performances from actors I really love. Tom Blyth with Plainclothes and Wasteman and David Jonnson with The Long Walk and Wasteman are having incredible years and once again, have proved their status as some of the best actors of their generation.
Great review Aaminah, I can’t wait to watch it! I wonder if the camera’s point of views shift accordingly with the movement of the characters inside of the prison? Like what you’ve written through phone camera and probably cctv footage?