Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael
Thomas Clay’s unflinching story of teen drugs and violence scandalised the British film industry 20 years ago, but is arguably ripe for rehabilitation
Director: Thomas Clay
Overview
Viewer discretion is advised for Thomas Clay’s audacious but disturbing debut feature, which follows introverted teenager Robert, as he drifts into a world of violence and moral desensitisation after taking drugs with classmates Joe and Ben. When Joe’s cousin arrives on the scene after spending time in prison, events quickly escalate towards a chilling act that will devastate the sleepy community.
Two decades have passed since Thomas Clay’s arthouse shocker scandalised Cannes 2005, and subsequently the British film industry. Languishing unreleased for over a year, it eventually received a cursory and critically derided UK release in 2006 – marketed as a Danny Dyer crime vehicle (he takes a small role) - before disappearing for two decades. But has it overstayed its spell in purgatory? While the film’s notorious scenes of sexual violence are distressing, such scenes were also prevalent in many French films from the period (‘New French Extremity’) that seemed to avoid widespread denouncement, with the critical establishment curtly quick to turn on a 25-year-old filmmaker who financed his film entirely outside the formal structures of the British film industry. And Clay clearly displays an effective grasp of film grammar, augmented by Yorgos Arvanitis’ trademark languid tracking shots which give the film a keen visual style. Audiences will remain divided as to whether Clay’s approach is suitable or lucidly expresses the work’s underlying themes, but while it may not be another Peeping Tom, The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael at least deserves its chance for a second look.
Contains very strong sexual violence
Related
The Rules of Attraction The Rules of Attraction
Comedy 2002 111 mins Director: Roger Avary
Exuberant adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, about a group of beautiful, wealthy and self-absorbed students tearing it up at college.
The Beasts The Beasts
Thriller 2022 138 mins Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Denis Ménochet stars as a small-town farmer whose idyllic lifestyle turns into a living nightmare, in this rivetingly structured, slow-burn thriller.
Twilight Twilight
Thriller 1990 100 mins Director: György Fehér
Transcendent murder-mystery about an obsessive detective, directed by a Béla Tarr associate and based on the same novel as Sean Penn's The Pledge.
Motel Destino Motel Destino
Thriller 2024 115 mins Director: Karim Aïnouz
Acclaimed filmmaker Karim Aïnouz’s Brazilian erotic noir sees an escaped young hustler flee to a roadside sex motel run by a hot-headed couple.
Mother Mother
Thriller 2009 129 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
Acclaimed Korean actor Kim Hye-ja is outstanding as a mother who will do anything to protect her son, in Bong Joon Ho’s fourth feature.
Islands Islands
Drama 2025 121 mins Director: Jan-Ole Gerster
A mysterious disappearance sets off this noirish thriller with echoes of Hitchcock and Highsmith, starring Sam Riley and Stacey Martin.
Morvern Callar Morvern Callar
Drama 2002 93 mins Director: Lynne Ramsay
Samantha Morton plays the enigmatic title character in Lynne Ramsay’s dreamy and atmospheric road movie.
On Falling On Falling
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Laura Carreira
The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this powerful, nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.
Santosh Santosh
Drama 2023 128 mins Director: Sandhya Suri
A housewife-turned-cop is sucked into a high-profile case that has polarised the local community in this taut, north India-set thriller.
Swimming Home Swimming Home
Comedy 2024 96 mins Director: Justin Anderson
A family finds a stranger floating naked in their swimming pool in this sensual, sun-baked drama starring Christopher Abbott
Slade in Flame Slade in Flame
Drama 1975 90 mins Director: Richard Loncraine
This incendiary Glam-rock cult classic is described by critic Mark Kermode as ‘the Citizen Kane of British pop movies’.
Sister Midnight Sister Midnight
Comedy 2024 107 mins Director: Karan Kandhari
A genre-bending comedy about a frustrated and misanthropic newlywed who discovers certain feral impulses that land her in unlikely situations.
Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros
Documentary 2023 240 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s gastronomic dream of a film captures daily life in one of the world’s most prestigious restaurants.
Titicut Follies Titicut Follies
Documentary 1967 84 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s unflinching debut shows life inside an institution for the criminally insane, voted one of the greatest documentaries of all time.
Multi-Handicapped Multi-Handicapped
Documentary 1987 126 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A compassionate portrait of students at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, directed by Frederick Wiseman.
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Documentary 2017 206 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
An immersive journey into the New York Public Library with great documentarian Frederick Wiseman.
Welfare Welfare
Documentary 1975 167 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman’s remarkable glimpse into the Kafkaesque nature of New York’s welfare system.
Central Park Central Park
Documentary 1990 177 mins Director: Frederick Wiseman
A fascinating portrait of the comings and goings, and the people involved in maintaining Manhattan’s iconic green space.