Gypo (Jan Dunn, 2005)

Dunn’s debut low budget feature is Dogme 37, the first UK Dogme film, and is the three intersecting stories of Helen (Pauline McLynn), Paul (Paul McGann) and Tasha (Chloe Sirene). Helen is in a loveless marriage to carpet layer Paul, with a couple of kids, and befriends Czech refugee who is on the run from a bad relationshio with her mother Irina (Rula Lenska).

The action takes place around the Isle of Thanet, most in Margate and Ramsgate, and it makes me wonder when the ferry service finally stopped. It’s not exactly photogenic, but it’s real, even if you wonder how long it takes to get from Margate or Ramsgate to the caravan site above Pegwell Bay. Each narrative, whilst taking roughly the same screentime and real world time, add to the last, and your opnion of Paul will drop through the course of the film. There is a twist, which isn’t entirely convincing, but I was willing to go along for the ride.