Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Robert Carlyle, Arron Fuller, David Bradley, Karl Johnson, Valerie Lilley, Howard Marks, Christian Patterson, Claire Cage, Ifan Huw Dafydd, Dyfan Dwyfor, Daniel Flynn, Aaron Lamprey
Written by Justin Kerrigan
Certification UK 15
Runtime 81 minutes
Directed by Justin Kerrigan
Justin Kerrigan burst onto the film scene in 1999 with Human Traffic. As a directorial debut it was incredibly assured, depicting the club scene with hilarious accuracy and with frequent flashes of flair and leftfield (pun intended for those in the know) flights of fancy. Hell, even Danny Dyer was good value (although maybe that’s because it was his first film).
Twelve years on, the Welsh writer-director is back with I Know You Know, a father and son story with Robert Carlyle as Charlie, on one final mission as a secret agent which will set him and his son Jamie (Fuller) up for life. All that stands between them and a life of luxury in America is a shady organisation brainwashing the good people of Bridgend, Wales.
Kerrigan says that this is a very personal story, based closely on his relationship with his father growing up in the 1980s and one that is funny, adrenaline-rushed and emotional. It’s hard to agree that it’s any of these things. Although the tone is light from the outset, there aren’t any real laughs and there’s an air of mystery which is never backed up by any real suspense or sense of threat. Exposition of plot is deliberately vague but this just results in a lack of involvement rather than a heightened sense of intrigue.
Robert Carlyle is perfectly fine as the paranoid but loving father even if his Welsh accent isn’t immediately recognisable, while Arron Fuller makes a very promising big screen debut. It’s shame then that his role is one we’ve seen many times before – troubled father, bullied at school, good kid not given quite the upbringing he needs – and so it’s hard to come away with anything other than a feeling of vague familiarity.
As he demonstrated in Human Traffic, the director has an ear for a catchy tune, kicking things off here with ‘Apache’ and the eclectic soundtrack is great but as was proven in The Boat That Rocked, it’s simply not enough to carry a film and at times feels as if it’s slightly out of kilter with the mood. Heartfelt it may be but it’s hard not to feel disappointed in Kerrigan’s return, especially after such a long time and such an auspicious start.