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Kelly + Victor

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Kelly + Victor
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKieran Evans
Screenplay byKieran Evans
Story byNiall Griffiths
Based onKelly + Victor
by Niall Griffiths
Produced byJanine Marmot
Starring
CinematographyPiers McGrail
Edited by
  • Tony Kearns
  • Nathan Nugent
Music bySteve Fanagan
Production
companies
  • Hot Property Films
  • Venom Films
Distributed byVerve Pictures
Release dates
Running time
94 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
LanguageEnglish

Kelly + Victor is a 2012 romantic drama film written and directed by Kieran Evans, based on Niall Griffiths's 2002 novel of the same name. Starring Antonia Campbell-Hughes and Julian Morris, the film follows a young couple embarking on a passionate love affair. The film won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer in 2014.[2] It was released in the United Kingdom on 20 September 2013 by Verve Pictures.[3]

Plot

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Kelly and Victor meet on the dance floor of a Liverpool nightclub, both of them on drugs. They quickly leave the club and return to Kelly's flat where they take more drugs and drink whiskey together. While they have sex, Kelly chokes and bites Victor for sexual gratification and admits to him in the morning that she got carried away.

Kelly's fetish is mirrored when she joins her dominatrix friend in whipping a masked man to earn some money, but she struggles to play the role of dominatrix and does not enjoy the experience. On a visit to her mother's house, Kelly finds that her mother has invited her ex-boyfriend, who is clearly still infatuated with Kelly but is not allowed within three metres due to a restraining order.

Victor sets up another date with Kelly, telling her in the pub that he would do anything for her and that their relationship is something special. Later, Kelly ties Victor's hands while they have sex, chokes him and carves the phrase "K + V" into his back using cut glass. Victor tells his friends and sister that he no longer wants to see Kelly but is clearly still preoccupied by her.

After returning from a party, Victor finds Kelly bleeding in the street after she has been attacked by her ex-boyfriend. He takes her to A&E and the two return home again together. Kelly again strangles Victor with a tie, him insisting that he will tap her when he has had enough. However, Kelly gets carried away and does not notice that Victor is unable to tap her. He dies from asphyxiation, leaving Kelly distraught and listening to a CD mixtape that he made for her.

Production

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The film was shot almost entirely in Liverpool, with one sequence filmed in North Wales.[4][5]

Critical response

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The film received positive reviews. Trevor Johnston of Sight & Sound magazine named Kieran Evans "the most exciting British filmmaker to emerge in the wake of Lynne Ramsay, Steve McQueen and Andrea Arnold".[3]

Cast

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References

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  1. ^ "Kelly + Victor (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  2. ^ Butler, Laura (19 February 2014). "Antonia tells of joy as latest movie picks up Bafta prize". The Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b Johnston, Trevor (23 April 2014). "Film of the week: Kelly + Victor". Sight & Sound. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  4. ^ Barlow, Eleanor (17 February 2014). "Director of Liverpool-set film Kelly + Victor celebrating after BAFTA success". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  5. ^ Jones, Josh. "Kieran Evans – Esquire Weekly". Josh Josh Jones. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
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