Nerdly » ‘April’ Review

20th May2022

‘April’ Review

by Kevin Haldon

Stars: Keira Lane, Neal Ward, Segun Akinwoleola, Siobhan Bayford, Cassandra French, Kelly Goudie, Tiana Hoath, Paul King, Megan Lockhurst | Written and Directed by Darren James King

Directed by Darren James King (Blood Feud, The Cleaner), April is a stark and somewhat grim reminder of what an unshackled British director can produce. Movies like Scum, The Firm, This is England and Dead Man’s Shoes. You know, true “cheery” Brit flicks! Films that are few and far between these days on account of… well that’s another conversation for another day. Here we have a director who, while somewhat restricted by budget, is unwavering in his commitment to telling us a grim story with its grim reality. A project that for any father watching will set your mind racing, all capped with a “If I am doing this I’m getting lost in the moment” performance from Neal Ward. This is British low budget at its core and that’s why I wanted to check it out.

April is the story of a young schoolgirl by the name of… well… April. She has a seemingly good enough home life with a caring mum and dad; school – much like it always is for most young girls – is just horrendous. Lacking in friends, self-confidence, or any real sense of worth, she meets and befriends Myles, a super charming older man who, on the face of it, has all the answers. As April starts to get more involved with Myles we begin to find he has some pretty serious demons of his own and may not exactly be the best person to be around.

While the flick follows the titular April, played by Keira Lane, the standout of this movie is Neal Ward in his ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ style role of promising the world while he destroys everything he touches. It’s a funny one too because when it comes to the complexity of the script and the character you find yourself rooting for Myles when you discover his home life. Such is Ward’s performance that you just want him to pull it together but every time you feel it’s about to happen he switches, kicks you in the nuts and thanks the viewers for being weak enough to care for him. That’s a performance.

I take nothing from Keira Lane though because like I said up top this character and her story will have parents reeling and wondering who their daughter is bumping into out there. Lane made me care which in turn makes me hate Myles with a passion. That is also the sign of a wonderful performance.

Is April without its problems? No, it really isn’t. It’s fairly obvious from the outset this is not a big-budget movie. There are some fairly rough and questionable sound edits and camera movement choices, but I went into April knowing this was going to be the case, so I don’t hold it to the same standard I would hold your mainstream box office fare. Put that aside as a viewer though and what you have here is a compelling and engaging movie that evokes a wide-ranging scope of emotions, a story you most likely already know and can relate to in some way or another.

King, as a director, has shown a flair for the crime thriller that I think will serve him well as he moves forward and I am excited to see what he does in the future. He can write a flick which is evident but I do think casting is crucial and that is why April worked for me.