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Uwantme2killhim?

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uwantme2killhim?
Official film poster
Directed byAndrew Douglas
Written byMike Walden
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyTim Wooster
Edited byMichael Elliot
Music byJon Hopkins
Production
companies
Distributed byEntertainment One[2]
Release date
  • 25 June 2013 (2013-06-25) (EIFF)
[1]
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

uwantme2killhim? (also known as U Want Me 2 Kill Him? and stylised as Uwantme2killhim?) is a 2013 British thriller film directed by Andrew Douglas.[3][4] The film stars Jamie Blackley and Toby Regbo and premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, where the two actors won the Best Performance in a British Feature Film award.[5] The film is loosely based on a true story and follows two teenage schoolboys who are drawn into a complicated world of online chatrooms, eventually leading to bizarre consequences.[1][6]

Plot

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In 2003, Detective Inspector Sarah Clayton (Joanne Froggatt) tries to establish why British schoolboy Mark (Jamie Blackley) would want to stab John (Toby Regbo). The two were supposed to be friends, yet Mark claims that the crime was necessary. As she looks deeper into the crime and the two teenagers, she discovers that Mark frequented chatrooms and became fascinated with Rachel (Jaime Winstone), a woman he met in one such room. With her prompting, he agrees to make friends with her brother John. Mark quickly begins to fall for her, sympathising with her tales of domestic abuse by her boyfriend Kevin (Mingus Johnston) while believing that they cannot meet because she is in a witness protection program.

Mark is horrified when John informs him that Kevin has killed Rachel, and he begins planning revenge against Kevin. Mark's sanity has been slowly coming apart, culminating in his beginning his plans to stab John after a chat with Janet (Liz White), an MI5 agent, who tells him that John is a person of interest to the agency. It is eventually revealed that John orchestrated the entire plot and that there is no Rachel or Janet, and that he pretended to be various people in order to get to Mark.

Cast

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Reception

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Critical reception for uwantme2killhim? was mixed to positive.[7][8] Common praise in the reviews typically centre upon Blackley and Regbo's acting,[9] with the Screen Daily commenting that the two delivered "strong performances".[10] Other reviews questioned the film's need to repeat plot elements and the believability of some of the scenes.[11][12]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b HARKNESS, ALISTAIR. "Bryan Singer on the film 'Uwantme2killhim?'". Scotsman. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  2. ^ "Film #44274: uwantme2killhim?". Lumiere. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  3. ^ Kemp, Stuart (12 May 2011). "Jack O'Connell and Olly Alexander to Star in 'uwantme2killhim' (Cannes)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  4. ^ Hunter, Craig. "First Trailer & Poster For 'Uwantme2killhim?'". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  5. ^ a b Pulver, Andrew (28 June 2013). "Edinburgh gives top award to experimental documentary Leviathan". London: Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  6. ^ Carter, Helen (29 May 2004). "Bizarre tale of boy who used internet to plot his own murder". London: Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  7. ^ Lodge, Guy. "Edinburgh Film Review: 'Uwantme2killhim?". Variety. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  8. ^ Maclean, Ross. "uwantme2killhim? is a chat-room drama that fails to load". STV. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  9. ^ McConnachie, Garry (23 June 2013). "EIFF 2013 review: Uwantme2killhim?". Daily Record. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  10. ^ Hunter, Alan. "Review: uwantme2killhim?". Screen Daily. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  11. ^ Rowat, Alison. "Edinburgh International Film Festival". Herald Scotsman. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
  12. ^ Blair, Andrew (26 June 2013). "uwantme2killhim? review". Den of Geek. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
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