Midlands Review of Patriot
midlandsmovies • September 11, 2021
Patriot
Directed by Idriss Assoumanou
2021
How can there be compassion in a world full of so much hate is the question asked in a new West Midlands drama from local director Idriss Assoumanou.
The filmmaker begins his 20 minute short with the sound of a crowd singing God Save the Queen with nationalism and identity being themes that permeate the story we are to be told.
We are introduced to a young man (an introspective Isaac Beechey) who is watching Britain First videos on his phone in the park. The films shows accessing these sort of extremist opinions can be as simple and easy as watching online. But the film also reflects how these seemingly small actions lead can lead to far larger and more dangerous views. And further down the line, it goes beyond extreme language into real-life brutality.
After draping himself in an England flag and embarking on a bus, he stares out the window watching the Asian community around him with a sense of resentment and anger.
After receiving a call he meets his friend (Corey Thompson) and together they attack an Asian man (Shaiek Ahmed Rana) in an underpass and film their violent assault on a mobile phone. Again, we see the permeation of social media and menace of online radicalism whilst they watch the footage back in amusement.
The film very much concerns itself with race relations and national identity. It also builds upon the themes of one of the director’s last films In the Midst which also looked at extremism. But it also explores the notion of image and appearance. How people “look” – whether racially, culturally, amongst their peers or on social media – is alluded to in almost every scene.
The boys then meet up with a more senior local hard-man (a frightening Matt Fearnley) and we discover that the incident forms part of an initiation into a larger squad. The older man even encourages the two friends to be violent towards each other showing how outward aggression even forms a big part of their internal group.
The technical elements are great with sweeping camera shots, emotional close ups and clear editing to get the subject matter, and its deeper connotations, across to the audience.
The great script by A R Ugas sees the use of phrases like “cause”, “the soldier is out of the barracks”, “rank” and “enemy” scattered throughout - with the racist group using military terms to make their actions seem like a symbolic war.
The story continues as we find out their friend Michael (Josef Hyland) is to be released from prison and they meet in a playground – ironic given their immature and puerile view on the world. Despite Michael saying he was originally consumed by revenge, he is in fact suspected by the others of being an informant as it’s revealed his 15-year sentence became just 3 before his release.
The film concludes with a number of surprising twists. I won’t spoil them here but they really help make the somewhat familiar character types and narrative go in fascinating new directions. Less up my street was the use a strong orchestral score which, although powerful, felt overused. The final 5 minutes of the film, right up until the credits, seems like the whole orchestral suite was played in full.
A slice of silence may have allowed the audience to breathe when so many dramatic beats come to a head. However there is a bit of respite at the end which delivers a show of mercy to offer some hope in an turbulent world.
In the end though, Patriot is another strong showing from one of the West Midlands’ best directors. Assoumanou has a strong voice with a lot to say about the current state of the UK and gives individual stories their place amongst larger societal issues.
With themes of radicalisation, retaliation and redemption, Patriot delivers an unflinching look at the terrible consequences of radical violence – both physical and psychological. Yet against this horrifying problem, the film’s powerful ending waves a flag for even the smallest of chances for compassion and healing.
Michael Sales
Up! (1976) Dir. Russ Meyer Well, bi-Adolf Hitler BDSM is not something (a) I thought I’d ever see 5 minutes into a movie and (b) ever expected to write in my lifetime to be fair but this spicy start is pretty standard for the work of exploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer. Up! is a kind of r*pe-revenge softcore p*rn film (there’s gonna be a fair bit of self-censorship in this review so apologies in advance), the type Meyer is known for. I’d describe the plot in more detail but it’s mostly a convoluted and incoherent mess of double-crossing, murder, violence and lots and lots of humping. In short, a man called Adolph gets murdered and a woman investigates (kinda) the circumstances but as she does so, a group of locals blackmail, attack and screw each other with the murder mystery barely mentioned throughout. With so little narrative, it could be argued if it’s essentially p*rn? To be fair, not far off. It’s about extreme as you can go without simply making a s*x film. Is that a…no, it’s a belly button hole. Bookending the film (and also seen at various points throughout) is a Greek Chorus - simply a busty fully nude woman of course - who delivers dialogue like “Pummelling the scrotum with joyous supplication” and other such poeticisms. This artistic flourish is mostly pointless - the actress herself saying the words were tough to learn because it was utter nonsense. On a technical level, the editing is surprisingly well done and the 4k image is frankly fantastic. Someone somewhere must be putting together a post-modern take about the beautiful landscapes and cinematography of Meyer’s * ahem * output. But it definitely does have a kitsch artistry. It has certainly provided plenty of cinematic influence though. Elements of Tarantino grindhouse sensibilities are on show - Meyers likes bosoms as much as Quents likes feet - and there’s even a leather gimp early on. I can also see how its had an impact on Ti West X’s with a focus on sexuality and the body as well, more obviously, Anna Biller’s feminist-twist The Love Witch (2016). Suffice to say it’s not for the weak of heart. I think in this day and age you can’t go into this completely blind to its style, period and context though. It's an X-rated Carry On style that was bad taste then and it’s bad taste now. It revels in its sleaziness without a single hint of shame or apology. Simply saying 'deal with it'. The main negative though is the absence of plot - if the film can even be looked at like that - which is barely present. This is a shame as the whole thing could do with a bit more coherence rather than endless shagging. But it’s far from titillation, it’s mostly clowning - albeit a very adult version of it. More saucy than sexy. Trying to review this through modern sensibilities is almost impossible. It’s as offensive can be from the first scene through to the final credits - heck even this 4k menu is simply one of the film's many s*x scenes. But there are some progressive themes as it doesn’t shy from confronting sexual freedom, bisexuality, gay sex, BDSM and consensual exploration. There's moments of comedy thrown in and I enjoyed a frankly hilarious 5-minute monologue explaining the culprit’s intentions, which was a ludicrous way to deliver a slasher-style ending. I suppose the main thing about Up! (and Meyers’ work overall) is there’s a sort of love it or loathe it quality about the whole shebang. But it’s so unlike anything being made today - for good or bad - that it’s never anything other than unpredictably fascinating. More explicit than most Meyers films - in fact more than any film - it’s a lewd, rude and crude (s)exploration with a satirical edge and campy enjoyment bouncing from every frame. ★★★ 3 / 5 Michael Sales Severin Films releases Russ Meyers' UP! (1976) and MOTORPSYCHO (1965) on 28 April 2025 in newly restored and scanned 4k with hours of new and archival Special Features https://severinfilms.co.uk/
On the 24th of April, the Midlands Art Centre opened its doors to Gobby Flicks Productions for a night of live comedy. Proceeds were raised towards the production of new short comedy films, directed and written by women.
Ti West’s The House of the Devil makes a wonderful companion piece to his film The Innkeepers. Both maintain the director’s referential approach to horror, incapsulating it in a slow burning 90 minutes that manages to build and maintain tension while cheekily winking to the audience and showing the mechanisms behind the scares.
Read the full list of nominees for the Midlands Movies Awards 2025