GOODBYE CHARLIE BRIGHT: DANNY DYER & PAUL NICHOLLS: NEW

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GOODBYE CHARLIE BRIGHT

Goodbye Charlie Bright, Nick Love’s 2001 rites of passage drama about a teenage group of petty criminals in a steaming South London summer, was never going to be a massive box-office hit. But it might prove to be a rather significant piece in the long run. If Paul Nicholls’ star continues to rise as anticipated, it may well come to be seen as the film which first revealed his genuine potential as a big screen actor. The former Eastenders heartthrob turns in a fine, sensitive performance as Charlie, gradually realising that he has to find a way to escape the constraints of the life that is shaping up in front of him. However, this isn’t solely a Nicholls vehicle. Roland Manookian is outstanding as Justin, the dangerous, troubled companion for whom Charlie is the only source of stability. There’s another good cameo from the ever-reliable Phil Daniels as an unbalanced Falklands veteran who becomes the catalyst for the rupture in their relationship and Charlie’s escape. Other familiar faces cropping up include two more Eastenders veterans Nicola Stapleton and Edna Doré, and television presenter Dani Behr who is particularly good as the nurse Charlie befriends. The story is slight, but between them, partly thanks to Love’s tight direction and script, the actors in Goodbye Charlie Bright generate a rather haunting little tragicomedy with moments of real pathos which deserves a long shelf life. –Piers Ford

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