[yasr_overall_rating]
London Road documents the events of 2006, when the quiet rural town of Ipswich was shattered by the discovery of the bodies of five women.
“London Road” starts out dramatically with words gracing the screen setting the stage for a community devastated by the murder of five prostitutes in a short time span. Set in Ipswich, England, this true story is told in a collection of songs and residents surrounding the house of the murderer. Why this story is told as a musical is beyond me. The brevity of the situation is lost in this strange collection of songs and thousands of faces. Each song focuses on at most two or three phrases; if you take the ten seconds to learn the lyrics for each song you can turn this into a sing-along. Despite the strangeness of the pantomime aspect of this British film, the acting is solid, and chronic characters are believable.
Residents of London Road in Ipswich, England, are asked to relive their emotional and physical involvement with the death of five prostitutes. A long dark wall near the residential area of the street houses a collection of girls selling themselves. The residents are irate at their arrival to their quiet street and unsympathetic to the call girls’ plight. The whole town becomes nervous as the murders take place and the killer is still at large. The townspeople spent little time interacting with each other before this tragic event occurred. Flash mobs fuel people into a frenzy of collective panic as everyone postulates about who the killer could be among them. The director increases the tension by leaving names out of this off-beat documentary, until the neighbors themselves choose to converse.
Christmas time brings in flashing lights strung up on windows as well as police lights to a house of a new resident on the road. The holiday season is diminished not by the loss of lives but by the fear of a killer living so close to ordinary citizens. Anger and a need for vengeance replace fear as is the typical cycle of human emotions. The serial killer’s name is the first to be released in the film despite him being faceless throughout the telling. The citizens of London Road band together as a community to follow the investigation and pick up the pieces left behind. Meanwhile, some citizens could not handle the panic and fear beset to the street, choosing to forgo the community altogether and move.
A taxi driver, as well as another resident, always lurking in an odd manner, are portrayed as possible substitutes of the actual killer with their devious mannerisms and ability to profile the killer very accurately, as well as, their ability to accurately fit the profile. As the plot thickens with the weight of the trial hanging over the town, the residents use the shocking events to plan parties and grow flowers trying to improve their neighborhood and wipe the slate clean from the horrible imprints left behind by the killer. Even the call girls themselves are dramatically changed by the events working together to find a method of cleaning themselves and finding a better life. The home of the murderer remains a stark reminder of the recent travesty as it is boarded up and peeping toms stop in for a glimpse into the life of a murderer. With news of the murderer safely locked away, the town works even harder to create relationships and discuss how much good has evolved from the loss of unwanted people. With a final celebration, the community realizes they have moved on and are better for the experience.
The film receives stars only for the ability to show the many facets of human involvement in catastrophic situations. The music meant to reiterate the fear and uncertainty of the townsfolk is overdone to the point of disrespect to the lives lost, instead of achieving the goal of assisting the audience in understanding the heightened emotions through trials and difficult circumstances. While only prostitutes, the raw hatred towards these troubled girls becomes more than mere bullying but a lack of humanity as the community moves forward happier not to be troubled by luckless people who simply needed the help of society. The celebratory town seems selfish in comparison which was accurately told on screen by one lonely remaining streetwalker left to her bittersweet interaction with the community celebration where she is flatly ignored by every adult.
I found this film to be as disrespectful to the lives lost as it was accurate in the telling of people healing from tragedy. The balance becomes even more fragile with the artistic attempts to employ refrains about semen and flowers. The director Rufus Norris and writer Alecky Blythe would have done better to tell this story in the respectful documentary fashion typical of true stories. Thankfully the characters themselves redeemed the time spent to watch this film with their convincing portrayal of a shattered neighborhood.
“London Road” opens at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas Friday, September 23rd
