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Beat Beneath My Feet, The

7/10

Stars: Luke Perry, Nicholas Galitzine, Lisa Dillon

Director: John Williams

Luke Perry - now there's a real blast from the past - turns up in this neatly-titled piece as Steve, a middle-aged rock star who, long believed dead, has instead fled his tax liabilities and turns up as the South London downstairs neighbour of geeky, friendless teenager Tom (Galitzine), whose mother (Dillon) - wouldn't you just know it - hates rock music thanks to her worthless musician ex-husband.

Cottoning on to Steve's shady past, which holds more secrets than a cupboard full of unanswered tax demands, Tom asks to learn to play rock guitar as the price of his silence. The subsequent fusing of the two personalities as they tentatively warm to each other as Tom takes his guitar lessons 'up on the roof' is nicely sketched in, strengthened by the low-key performances of Galitzine, whose first film this is, and the veteran Perry.

Although the final 'Battle of the Bands' is a bit ho-hum, and the animation sequences, as always, rather superfluous, the leading three performances consistently lift the offbeat piece to another level. In a so-far depressing year for the home film industry, The Beat Beneath My Feet is certainly one of the better British films of recent times.

David Quinlan

UK 2014. UK Distributor: Picturehouse (Scoop Films). Colour (unspecified).
89 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 0, Swearing 2.

Review date: 13 May 2015