Jamie Thraves Movies

A man finds himself caught in the middle of a love affair gone sour in this drama from British filmmaker Jamie Thraves. One morning, for no clear reason, Tom (Tom Fisher) leaves his home in Birmingham, abandoning his wife and kids to make his way to London where he lives on the streets. After a run-in with a gang of teenage thugs, Tom ends up in a hospital emergency room, where he meets Aidan (Aiden Gillen), an eccentric man who seems determined to befriend Tom whether he likes it or not. Aidan invites Tom to stay at his apartment, and with nowhere else to go, Tom accepts. There Tom meets Aidan's girlfriend Linda (Riann Steele), but he soon learns they have a severely dysfunctional relationship and Linda treats Tom like a verbal and physical punching bag. Tom also finds himself looking after Aidan's cat, which he has to hide from Linda since she's allergic to felines. Treacle Jr was an official selection at the 2010 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Music video director Jamie Thraves made his feature debut with this cinema verite look at a group of bohemian Londoners straddling the line between apathy and ambition. Aidan Gillen (of the popular British TV series Queer As Folk) plays Frank, a prop artist who spends his free time chain-smoking, drinking, pontificating, and chain-smoking some more. He's at a crossroads, however: Unable to tolerate his loud, drug-dealing neighbors, he considers buying a flat of his own. At the realtors, he meets the fetching Ruby (Kate Ashfield), who shows him a variety of dismal real estate opportunities, barely veiling her contempt for the offerings. Charmed, Frank begins to go out with Kate, and as their relationship heats up, Frank notices changes in his group of laterally mobile friends. Mike (Dean Lennox Kelly) begins to take on more responsibility, both at the prop shop and in his personal life, as he proposes marriage to his longtime girlfriend -- putting him at odds with the more lackadaisical John (Tobias Menzies), a chronically tardy co-worker who's beginning to reconsider his career track. Frank finds himself mediating between the two, and unable to make any definitive choices in his own life. The Low Down made its North American Premiere at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi