Bridgend tells the story of the true events that took place across the town of Bridgend and the tragic deaths of many teenagers who committed suicide. People out of the UK might not know the story very well and might have a failed understanding of this film. I feel the film tells the story very well and has and good cast members but would like to have seen a bigger look into the victims. This film no doubt upset many people including family member and might be a reason as to why it's never been officially released. Its not for those who are senactive to these situations and wouldn't say expect anything from it unless you want to learn a little bit more about the events that shock Wales. Visiting this town myself can relate to how the film is set and feel this was a very brave move making a film about this for all those involved.

I'm not sure why this movie has such a high rating. It attempts to be "artsy" but just ends up being awkward and confusing. The movie basically just consists of a group of punk degenerates partying, drinking excessively, committing crimes, and doing bizarre things. Oh and there's some suicides. Random shots thrown in that have nothing to do with the story. The plot makes no sense. There's a few suggestions as to why these kids are committing suicide like cult-like activity, parent blaming, and mental illness (or supernatural depending on your view) but nothing is ever really explained or shown. It's purposefully vague, I get that, but what's the point of the film other than to show that continuous suicides are scary? There is a detective but he is pretty pointless since he never actually really does anything of use.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it's supposedly based on true events but it does no justice to those events. The only truth is the fact of how many suicides there were which is written in text. The real story didn't involve a cult or even an exclusive group of friends. At most one of the teens who committed suicide knew like 3 others that did. Most knew one other person and it was a sort of chain that passed through not only bridgend but the entire County, so not exclusively bridgend. But the worst part is the portrayal that these kids were all degenerates who partied constantly and had no individuality. It is a disservice to show them in the way they did. The actual people were normal every day people. Some were happy with future aspirations for college and careers who made people laugh and contributed to society. Others did drink and have issues with the law. But the point is that they were individuals and not in any way like they were portrayed. On top of that it is insinuated that the parents of the kids are abusive or neglectful. The real parents that have given public interviews are clearly shown to be loving parents that were close with their children. I just can't imagine why a filmmaker would make the decision to portray victims of a real tragedy in such a negative and untrue way. It's completely disrespectful. If they wanted to create such a fictional story then they should have just called it something else and not used the notoriety of this tragedy just to profit from it. There is really no truth to this interpretation other than that there are suicides in a place called Bridgend. There is also no hope given in the movie at all. And what I mean is that many hoped this film would shed light on the issue of suicide and help the crisis. All this film does is make it look like it's inevitable, people are committing suicide and there's nothing anyone can do. How is that helping the cause? There is a documentary also called Bridgend that is much more enlightening and interesting. It brings to light real issues in the community like poor mental health services that could be fixed and prevent suicides instead of what this film shows: that it's a crazy cult-like group and there's nothing they can do in their depressing town but kill themselves.

Between 2007 and 2012 were committed 79 suicides by hanging in Bridgend County, a coal mining province in Wales, and mostly among teenagers. Based on this tragic true story, the film Bridgend, directed by Danish rookie Jeppe Rønde who until then only made documentaries, is a fictionalized version of the case. The story revolves around the protagonist Sara (played by Hannah Murray, known for the character Gilly, of Game of Thrones),a young woman who moves to a small town in Bridgend County due to her father's job relocation, the police officer Dave (played by Steven Waddington; he starred in the movie Imitation Game - 2014). Being a new girl in town Sara does not have any friends and her favorite hobby is riding her horse, Snowy. But gradually she gets drawn into a group of mysterious teenagers who appear to be connected to the wave of suicides, which causes concern of her father, who investigates the deaths.

To make this movie the director Rønde spent six years researching, interviewing and accompanying the teenagers who lived in the area and wrote the script based on their stories. There are theories about the deaths, but local authorities still do not know what motivated the suicides in which the film was based. Another detail is that the motion picture was filmed in the very Bridgend County.

The film portrays the reckless life of teenagers and uses the clichés that are already well known in adolescence representations: parties ruled by alcohol, cigarette, riots and dips in the lake, in a quest for freedom, to experience feelings without worrying about the consequences of your own acts. The intergenerational conflict is another point addressed and is showed by the gap between parents and children, who can not interact or communicate with each other.

With a gloomy and gray, grim and melancholic atmosphere, Magnus Nordenhof Jonck's photography (known for his work in Kapringen - A Hijacking - 2012 and Krigen - A War - 2015) creates a claustrophobic tone that makes you feel as if something terrible could happen at any time. Part of this constant tension effect is also built by Mondkopf's soundtrack, which uses the electronic sound to keep the suffocating tone in the movie. Bridgend quite remember the movie The Witch (2015) for the setting yearned in each frame.

Despite having an efficient cast the film could have developed the characters more. Another weak point was the way the script was written. The story does not follow a specific line and ends up being confused and not promoting the necessary understanding. The narrative focuses only on the lives of adolescents, leaving aside important parts as the parents viewpoint, the investigative work of the police and how the suicides affect the local community. Rønde was bold in its proposal to portray a difficult subject in an abstract way and ended up delivering a smaller film than it could be. Especially for the setting and the visual quality that are top- notch. Perhaps part of the answers that were left unclear can be found in the documentary Bridgend (2013).

Originally posted in: https://vikingbyheart.blogspot.com.br