Chumscrubber, The

Stars: Jamie Bell, Glenn Close, Ralph Fiennes, Justin Chatwin, Rory Culkin, Rita Wilson, Camilla Belle, John Heard, William Fichtner

Director: Arie Posin

Desperate Housewives meets Twin Peaks. And the result is, to say the least, very interesting. This is weird stuff and all the better for it - very surreal, with most of the characters being a jack or so short of a full deck.

Teen Dean (Bell) lives a happy, if fairly friendless existence in Wisteria Lane - oops, Anytown Avenue - until his best (and only) pal, Troy, the college drug dealer, commits suicide.

Dean's bullied at school by Billy (a very edgy performance by Chatwin), who wants Troy's stash and kidnaps a boy (Culkin) whom he thinks is Dean's brother but isn't.

Meanwhile, Troy's mom (Close) is driving everyone mad by telling them her son's suicide wasn't their fault, while the kidnap victim's mom (Wilson) to too obsessed with her forthcoming wedding to the Mayor (Fiennes) to notice that her son has gone missing.

And there's more...much more. You need to be in the mood, but you could really enjoy this odd night out. It's sharply piloted along its ragged road by Canadian director Posin, whose first feature this is. His future work will bear watching.

David Quinlan

USA 2005. UK Distributor: Icon. Colour.
107 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 1, Swearing 1.

Review date: 01 Jun 2007