Subscribe today using voucher code SUMMER22 for an extended free trial

This film is part of Rentals

Vroom 15 rating

Beeban Kidron’s first feature film follows Clive Owen, David Thewlis and Diana Quick as they take to the road in a bubblegum-pink Chevrolet.

Drama 1988 88 mins

Director: Beeban Kidron

Overview

This spiky and enjoyable road movie, largely out of circulation since its release in 1988, was the first film from director Beeban Kidron (Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason). In precocious early lead roles, Clive Owen and David Thewlis star as Jake and Ringe, two best friends who decide to escape a drab Northern town in their lovingly restored, bubblegum-pink vintage Chevrolet. Jake’s girlfriend, the older divorcee Susan (Diana Quick) comes along for the ride but what begins as a carefree adventure soon begins to be guided by the inescapable intrusion of realism.

With its rural interlude set in a Lake District cottage, Vroom has some echoes of Bruce Robinson’s Withnail and I, from just a couple of years earlier. And some Vivacious performances from its lead performers, including support Jim Broadbent as a dodgy boxing promoter, contribute to a satisfying ride that ill-deserves its stint in obscurity.