If you’re looking for kitchen sink drama, you’re in the wrong theatre. Made in England but reacting against the dowdy, veneer of many British films, I set out to make the kind of film I wanted to see; FAST FOOD has the sparkle and bite of American independent cinema combined with the eye of European film.
The story involves universal themes: childhood, friendship, love, regret. The truly British cast includes an Irishman, two Scots, a Mancunian, a native Londoner and a Geordie, producing a rich mixture of accents that gives the film a musical beauty.
FAST FOOD was shot in London but what we see is an unfamiliar city – a vibrant underground world of strange faces, towering buildings and empty streets. My aim was to make a film without recognisable London landmarks; no red buses, no British ‘Bobbies’ no Trafalgar Square. This is a magical ‘Everytown’ – the more unusual and enchanting, the better.
I worked very closely with production designer Katie Franklyn – Thompson on the contrast between the key interiors. Claudia’s apartment is light, airy and icy blue. She waits like an icicle in a freezer, as the boys steam away like rotting apples in a barrel.
DP Simon Reeves’ hand-held camera is a visceral part of the action, twisting, turning, nervous – close. Like the pulsating nervous, yet playful styles of Wong Kar – Wai’s ‘Chungking Express’ and Fallen angels’ or Shinya Tsukamoto’s ‘Tetsuo’films, the lens breaths the action. Then sometimes we step back, lock the camera off and consider the beauty of the frame. Breathe again.
Music plays a crucial role in FAST FOOD. Again contrast is the key – Ben Lee-Delisle’s lyrical orchestral score complementing a collection of contemporary band music, with sounds as divers as Blur and The Clash, The Supernaturals and Kenickie.
The Film
“DON’T SELL OUT YOUR MATES”
Benny’s back. To visit the friends he knew, to find the girl he loved, to be the man he could have been. But Zac, Jacko, Bisto and Flea have changed – they’re a bunch of bumbling ‘wannabe’ criminals who sit around all day arguing about the Royal Family, playing music and eating repellent fast food.
Determined to make sense of his life, Benny begins to piece together the fragments of his past. The clues lead to Claudia, the girl from his childhood sweetshop. Posing as a telephone engineer, Benny realises she is blind and that Dwayne, the local villain is holding her captive.
Now, as the stakes are raised, Benny is obliged to join his friends criminally illiterate raid on the sweetshop. Dressed as members of the Royal Family they raid the sweetshop, but Benny turns on them and snatches the cash believing that Claudia is entitled to it. Pursued by his friends, Benny rescues Claudia and tries to make good their escape.
To make matters worse, Benny’s friends have hatched a hair-brained plot to rob the sweetshop safe, where Dwayne stashes his ill-gotten gains. Now to Benny’s horror, they want him to join them in their criminal master-plan.
Seeking solace, Benny returns to Claudia’s flat and vows to help her escape. But Dwayne and his cohorts attempt to lynch him. In a heart stopping scene Zac, Jacko, Bisto and Flea come to Benny’s rescue at the last second.
In a powerful climax, Claudia gets her revenge on Dwayne and Benny learns the true power of friendship. They wake the next day to new-found love, a bag of money and the most unexpected of miracles…….
FAST FOOD is an off-beat, witty and moving story of a simple man on a collision course with his complex past.
Background
FAST FOOD, an independent production was mainly financed with money raised by Exec Producer Tessa Gibbs’ company Twin Pictures.
Despite being shot on a budget of only £48,736.17 (£1,262.83 under budget), the film has a stunning look and style. Nearly forty locations around London were used – breathtaking car chases, helicopter shots and special effects combine to give the film a wonderful texture and flare.
East London provided the location for the five and a half week shoot with a central location of a Bangladeshi drugs squat ready-decorated with purple vomit. The production crew had to be on their toes as demolition work began on three locations during filming.
Making a film of the scale and ambition of FAST FOOD required adaptability from the crew. Director Stewart Sugg got behind the wheel for stunt driving scenes and Producer Phil Hunt used his photographic background to completer the unit stills.
The editing process took place in a garden shed with Exec producer Tessa Gibbs’ brother, Jeremy, cutting Fast Food film.
The hard work of the crew was rewarded with both a Cannes premiere of the film in 1998 and two sold out screenings at The London Film Festival the following autumn.
Fast Food 1999, 2000.