A meet-cute with an edge launches Tallulah Haddon’s self-destructive Brightonian into a sharply observed love affair
Remember all-consuming crushes and awkward first dates? For young people in this age of self-isolation, such tender encounters might well be from another century. Chronicling a young lesbian romance set in a wintry Brighton, Justine is the remedy to the lack of such human contact. But it’s not all coffee dates and beach cuddles: this film is also a window on the harrowing cycle of addiction among displaced young adults.
Justine (Tallulah Haddon), on probation and cut off from her family, is in a state of disarray. Awakened by loud bangs from the door – her landlord is asking for this month’s rent – Justine staggers dazedly, and fully clothed, out of the bath. Her lips bear a nasty cut, and her left arm is covered in swathes of white bandages. This dire scene opens to a more hopeful past, only three months earlier, when Justine first locks eyes with Rachel (Sophie Reid), a teacher-to-be, in a bookstore. Harsh financial realities immediately undercut the sweetness of this meet-cute. Rachel gasps as Justine slyly pockets a copy of Ovid’s Heroides.