SXSW 2010: LE DONK AND SCOR-ZAY-ZEE Review
[With Shane Meadows' Le Donknow seems a good time to re-post our earlier review of the film.] about to screen at SXSW 2010 - and having just screened as part of Canadian Music Week -
Roadie. Washout. Reluctant father. Meet Le Donk, self styled music industry maven - his hopes pinned to the skills of chunky Midlands rapper Scor-Zay-Zee and a hail-Mary plan to somehow squeeze his young prodigy on to the lineup of a massive Arctic Monkeys outdoor gig that he's working in Manchester. The mad thing is it just might work.
The product of a long running collaboration between actor Paddy Considine and director Shane Meadows, Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee is the sort of film that could only have been created by close friends in an incredibly trusting environment. The Le Donk character is one originally created by Considine and Meadows when the duo collaborated back in 2002 on Meadows' Once Upon A Time In The Midlands, the burned out roadie first appearing in an accompanying short film. There have been rumors of a feature dedicated to the character ever since, at one point a traditionally scripted project on the verge of being shot before it was aborted at the last second with Meadows opting to shoot This Is England instead. Three years after that false start Le Donk is back but this time in a different form - starring in an improvised feature shot in a mere five days.
We meet the man himself the day before the massive Arctic Monkeys gig, Meadows - appearing as himself and very much involved from start to finish - and his small 'documentary' crew arriving at Le Donk's home first thing in the morning. The house - much like its owner - is a mess, remnants of the nights and days before scattered throughout, Le Donk having recently moved back in after being dumped by his pregnant girlfriend. Now being forced to share space with a collection of less-than-desirable renters the one bright spot in Donk's life comes in the form of Scor-Zay-Zee, his tenant with talent, the young man whose life he has inserted himself into as manager with promises of great things to come. Can he deliver on his promises? Probably not, but that's not stopping him from trying.
The film follows this group of characters - Le Donk, Scor-Zay-Zee, Meadows and Warp Films producer Mark Herbert, with guest spots from veteran comic actress Olivia Colman and all four members of the Arctic Monkeys - over the next three days. Less concerned with plot than character, it is a film of moments more than events. And at the center of it all is Considine as Le Donk. Insecure, full of bluster, more than a little bit vain, incredibly self serving, Le Donk fills every moment of this film - even those rare bits when he is not actually on screen. And the miracle of the film is that - in the hands of Meadows and Considine - the character avoids ever slipping in to the sort of caricature that it could easily have become. He is given just the right touches of believable humanity to keep him from spinning out into parody territory, his relationship with the sweetly naive Scor-Zay-Zee - an actual rapper playing himself - giving the film its much needed anchor.
Without a doubt a relatively minor work in the Meadows' canon, Le Donk nevertheless succeeds because it captures the spirit of the very real friendship between the films' creators. More clever than it is laugh-out-loud funny it is a sharply observed, smartly executed piece of work. Considine excels in a rare lead role while Scor-Zay-Zee proves a natural in front of the camera. Sometimes small is good.
Roadie. Washout. Reluctant father. Meet Le Donk, self styled music industry maven - his hopes pinned to the skills of chunky Midlands rapper Scor-Zay-Zee and a hail-Mary plan to somehow squeeze his young prodigy on to the lineup of a massive Arctic Monkeys outdoor gig that he's working in Manchester. The mad thing is it just might work.
The product of a long running collaboration between actor Paddy Considine and director Shane Meadows, Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee is the sort of film that could only have been created by close friends in an incredibly trusting environment. The Le Donk character is one originally created by Considine and Meadows when the duo collaborated back in 2002 on Meadows' Once Upon A Time In The Midlands, the burned out roadie first appearing in an accompanying short film. There have been rumors of a feature dedicated to the character ever since, at one point a traditionally scripted project on the verge of being shot before it was aborted at the last second with Meadows opting to shoot This Is England instead. Three years after that false start Le Donk is back but this time in a different form - starring in an improvised feature shot in a mere five days.
We meet the man himself the day before the massive Arctic Monkeys gig, Meadows - appearing as himself and very much involved from start to finish - and his small 'documentary' crew arriving at Le Donk's home first thing in the morning. The house - much like its owner - is a mess, remnants of the nights and days before scattered throughout, Le Donk having recently moved back in after being dumped by his pregnant girlfriend. Now being forced to share space with a collection of less-than-desirable renters the one bright spot in Donk's life comes in the form of Scor-Zay-Zee, his tenant with talent, the young man whose life he has inserted himself into as manager with promises of great things to come. Can he deliver on his promises? Probably not, but that's not stopping him from trying.
The film follows this group of characters - Le Donk, Scor-Zay-Zee, Meadows and Warp Films producer Mark Herbert, with guest spots from veteran comic actress Olivia Colman and all four members of the Arctic Monkeys - over the next three days. Less concerned with plot than character, it is a film of moments more than events. And at the center of it all is Considine as Le Donk. Insecure, full of bluster, more than a little bit vain, incredibly self serving, Le Donk fills every moment of this film - even those rare bits when he is not actually on screen. And the miracle of the film is that - in the hands of Meadows and Considine - the character avoids ever slipping in to the sort of caricature that it could easily have become. He is given just the right touches of believable humanity to keep him from spinning out into parody territory, his relationship with the sweetly naive Scor-Zay-Zee - an actual rapper playing himself - giving the film its much needed anchor.
Without a doubt a relatively minor work in the Meadows' canon, Le Donk nevertheless succeeds because it captures the spirit of the very real friendship between the films' creators. More clever than it is laugh-out-loud funny it is a sharply observed, smartly executed piece of work. Considine excels in a rare lead role while Scor-Zay-Zee proves a natural in front of the camera. Sometimes small is good.
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