Not quite foolish

Flashbacks of a Fool
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Olivia Williams
Director: Baillie Walsh
**1/2

The story of a Hollywood star struggling on the verge of mental collapse torpedoed by the death of a childhood friend, had a lot of possibilities for in-depth soul-searching, but the way writer-director Baillie Walsh narrates it, you just don't get the point of at all!

Burnt-out Hollywood star, Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) is too busy sexing up his life and doing drugs to regain his lost tinsel glory. Then the emotionally shattering news of the death of his childhood friend Boots (Max Deacon) triggers a reminiscing of their coming-of-age years in a small English seaside town. Walsh treats us to some fantastic images of seaside tranquillity while strong characterisations emerge into the arch of a past tragedy.

Walsh as director is a talent to watch out for. His narrative is seeped in idyllic period atmosphere, has a charmingly evocative soundtrack and his handling of the cast is exemplary. In fact, nearly all the performances are technically competent. The really unfortunate part of this whole exercise is the underdeveloped script. A little bit of tweaking and this could have become a memorable experience.