By Linda Winsh-Bolard
Abroad's ambition is to cross over from An Education to Shopalcoholic with the additional bits and pieces of several other films. That’s part of the trouble. In the nicely packaged serving of one old story (a girl discovering the world), it mashes together too many ingredients and none are original.
Amy Pearce (Liane Balaban) transfers from Toronto newspaper to her dream town, London, by getting a job in the London Daily.
On arrival she is overwhelmed by the city, its quirks and its charm. Then she receives the expected cold shower administered by her new, callow, ambitious and bitchy editor who assigns her to a tea trolley (oh, well, perhaps they do have them in London), steals her ideas and her writing while keeping the byline to herself ( in the States this is called clerking).
Meanwhile Amy's roommates are friends with the well to do lot, take her out to clubs and fabulous weekend parties and the newspaper photographer, dully interested in Amy, drives a silver Triumph and is heir to baronetcy.
There are the predictable pitfalls and betrayals and growing up for the newcomer. The predictable end comes in time with one not so predictable little twist.
Unfortunately, it is not nearly as fabulously shaded and toned as An Education was, nor as believable. It does not have the depth of understanding of the longing that those who wish to live and create might suffer while having limited opportunity to exercise either, nor the intellectual scope of the cause and consequence. It remains in the shallow water of random luck, a bit of inconvenience, sufficient security with a bit of fun, lives that end well suffering as little pain as it does experience.
Sexual predators, whether married thieves or selfish baronets, pick their victims carefully. Jenny gets picked because she is so young that her lack of experience is inevitable; she would neither suspect nor fight. Amy gets picked because she in a stranger with no family or social support network, she also often does not truly understand this new world. All that makes her vulnerable. Despite the scene where Amy is thrown out of polo grounds, the film does not seem to understand the underlying implications; possibly because the director doesn't either.
Both Amy and Jenny want to live interesting lives, both are young, even though it is hardly expected for an adult reporter from major city to be an innocent when coming to London, but where Jenny realizes what growing up is and why she should be glad of it, Amy is saved by absurd deus ex machina with prostitution inclinations. Sorry, too many accidents too fast.
As they pile on top of one another, the film loses momentum and slips to the predictable everyday chick TV fare. I wonder why are female writers are so shy when writing about women. Most women have raw, sometimes hideous, experiences when trying to make their way in the world. And few, if any nowadays, would believe that fat, rich, old man, who gave them a job, invites them for dinner just to be nice. Why not write about reality? It’s so much more interesting.
Liane Balaban is so thin that it’s painful to watch her, and her tomato soup red shoes make her feet look enormous. Her acting is adequate but not mature enough. Despite the fact that Andrew Buchan (Billy) is blond while Adam Rayner (Edward) is dark, they are nearly exchangeable in their parts as well as in their acting. Two hunks falling for the heroine, who, on stringer salary, sports designer clothes at all times.
Daisy Haggard plays the irresponsible Poppy, a big eyed ingénue with expensive tastes and no income (fill in the blanks). Samir Rahim and Steven Gartner come of as best, most humanely acted characters, but there is little of them.
It’s nicely staged, with improbably flattering light, prettily shot and quite pleasant to watch on a long, boring evening or afternoon. A phone call will not really disturb you and a glass of something stronger than tea in hand will neither.
Directed by Phillip John, written by Meredith Caplan and Leah McLaren.
