STORYLINE: Georgie, a dreamy 12-year-old girl, lives happily alone in her London flat, filling it with magic. Suddenly, her estranged father turns up and forces her to confront reality.

     Some films have a lot of charm.  Others go with sentiment.  Very few balance both well.  Scrapper does just that, balancing charm and sentiment and does not insult my intelligence in the process.

    The premise could have gone in many different ways.  It could have been preachy, which I hate in movies.  Bros is a great example of a movie I dislike because it is preachy.  Scrapper could have been uncomfortable as well.  I am pleasantly surprised that the movie went the route it did.

   The other pleasant surprise was the lead.  Typically I do not care for child actors especially in lead roles.  They tend to annoy ,e.  Like Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild, I thought Lola Campbell gave a great and moving performance as the lead in Scrapper.  I am not saying every child performance is going to surprise me but there are clearly exceptions. 

    Scrapper is a small British movie.  It is important to support small movies.  Without them fewer stories are told and they help diversify what is being shown in theaters, not just cookie cutter blockbusters.   They’re also a great way for film makers to get a start in the film business.  Not everyone is Spielberg but can tell just as good stories.

    Until next time I will see you at the movies!