scrapper (film, 2023)

I watched Scrapper the other night. As a father, the story of Georgie, this 12-year-old girl living alone after her mother's death, resonated in a particular way. She avoids social services with clever tricks. She also runs a small bike theft operation with her friend Ali. This fragile life changes when her absent father, Jason, suddenly shows up.

Lola Campbell plays Georgie. She's tough and resourceful on the outside. But Campbell shows the grief and loneliness underneath. Harris Dickinson plays Jason. He avoids the deadbeat dad cliché. He seems just as lost and confused as Georgie. Their relationship - the awkward connections, the distrust - drives the film.

The first part establishes Georgie's independent world. We see her routines and her tricks. The bike theft subplot is there but feels underdeveloped. More impactful is the film's handling of grief. It's shown in Georgie's small rituals and her clinging to her mother's things. It doesn't need big emotional scenes. A group of local kids provides comic relief. They comment on the action.

Charlotte Regan, the director, includes touches of magical realism. There are bursts of color, and even talking spiders appear. These moments, one might interpret, as glimpses into Georgie's internal world, handled without being overly forceful. The handheld camera work grounds the film, keeping it feeling real, despite these more fantastical touches.

Ultimately, Scrapper explores a fractured father-daughter relationship. It's an observation of two individuals, both carrying their own burdens, as they attempt to find some kind of connection. The film left me thinking specifically about the challenges and the inherent fragility of the parent-child bond.