‘Struck’ VOD Review
Stars: Christopher Foran, Connor Mayes, Daisy Montgomery, Olivia Rose, Will Sutcliffe, Ayvianna Snow | Written by Alexander Milo Bischof | Directed by Alexander Milo Bischof, Michael Couvaras
One of the great things about streaming sites like Amazon Prime and Netflix is that it gives a home to some of the lesser known flicks that maybe didn’t have the biggest budget or the greatest fanfare surrounding them. Online streaming has changed the game and made your more independent movies way more accessible and every now and then you can find an absolute gem.
Struck is one such movie. A movie that relies solely on the performance of its actors; a movie that has you thinking it could be one thing but shows you its actually something else; a story that takes an unflinching look into the social conscious…
Struck is the story of four teens whose spoilt rich kid lives are about to be blown wide open. We meet Jenny (Daisy Montgomery) and Kate (Olivia Rose) in the woods who are discussing everything from a previous party, their friends shenanigans and upcoming plans for a party and what they are going to be doing when they leave school. Also out for a brisk stroll are friends Jamie (Will Sutcliffe) and Steve (Connor Mayes) who are trying to figure out what they want to do for their upcoming birthday celebrations. We learn more about our two sets of friends through a variety of flashbacks that these four friends are keeping things from each other. Their worlds are about to be thrown into a spin upon bumping into each other and discovering a deep dark secret.
I myself am a huge fan of character-based, performance driven films and this is one of those movies. All four of our main leads are superb in their respective roles and really drive home an unrelenting sense of realness. There are some truly subtle acting choices that you probably wouldn’t pick up first time round but make complete sense to the story. In the hands of lesser actors these choices could seem ropey but with these guys I bought it. While I am a big fan of all these performances for me this was the “Connor Mayes and Daisy Montgomery show”, both of whom have extremely layered roles and pull them off beautifully.
Lets talk about that score for a second… because the score running through Struck is as much of a character as any of its actors; it sucks you in with its eeriness at times and is gripping till the last. It runs perfectly along with the gorgeous setting of the woods, a metaphorical place that secrets and lies go to get lost, just gorgeous. Top quality choices from the filmmakers – here setting and mood is everything.
Writer/directors Alexander Milo Bischof and Michael Couvaras have come out the gates with an excellent first feature film. Wonderfully written with visceral, real, dialogue dealing with some complex real life issues plucked straight from the headlines, that if not given care and attention they have here, would just have fallen flat. Our core cast of relative newcomers put in performances they can all be proud of and I hope to see more from our young stars going forward. Cheeky little mention for Will Sutcliffe who is a little scene stealer, coming across as the comic relief but really driving home the closing scenes with his intensity, loved this guy!
Struck is out now on Amazon Prime and I have to say there are worse ways to spend 80 minutes, I liked this movie a lot and it was just refreshing to see a movie with four young up-and-coming actors that put everything into it. A big recommend from me, if you like performance driven movies like I do, this one is for you.
