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Vroom
Beeban Kidron’s first feature film follows Clive Owen, David Thewlis and Diana Quick as they take to the road in a bubblegum-pink Chevrolet.
Drama 1988 88 mins
Director: Beeban Kidron
Overview
This spiky and enjoyable road movie, largely out of circulation since its release in 1988, was the first film from director Beeban Kidron (Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason). In precocious early lead roles, Clive Owen and David Thewlis star as Jake and Ringe, two best friends who decide to escape a drab Northern town in their lovingly restored, bubblegum-pink vintage Chevrolet. Jake’s girlfriend, the older divorcee Susan (Diana Quick) comes along for the ride but what begins as a carefree adventure soon begins to be guided by the inescapable intrusion of realism.
With its rural interlude set in a Lake District cottage, Vroom has some echoes of Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I, from just a couple of years earlier. And some Vivacious performances from its lead performers, including support Jim Broadbent as a dodgy boxing promoter, contribute to a satisfying ride that ill-deserves its stint in obscurity.
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