The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael

Viewer discretion is advised for Thomas Clay’s audacious but disturbing debut feature, which follows introverted teenager Robert, as he drifts into a world of violence and moral desensitisation after taking drugs with classmates Joe and Ben. When Joe’s cousin arrives on the scene after spending time in prison, events quickly escalate towards a chilling act that will devastate the sleepy community.

Two decades have passed since Thomas Clay’s arthouse shocker scandalised Cannes 2005, and subsequently the British film industry. Languishing unreleased for over a year, it eventually received a cursory and critically derided UK release in 2006 – marketed as a Danny Dyer crime vehicle (he takes a small role) - before disappearing for two decades. But has it overstayed its spell in purgatory? While the film’s notorious scenes of sexual violence are distressing, such scenes were also prevalent in many French films from the period (‘New French Extremity’) that seemed to avoid widespread denouncement, with the critical establishment curtly quick to turn on a 25-year-old filmmaker who financed his film entirely outside the formal structures of the British film industry. And Clay clearly displays an effective grasp of film grammar, augmented by Yorgos Arvanitis’ trademark languid tracking shots which give the film a keen visual style. Audiences will remain divided as to whether Clay’s approach is suitable or lucidly expresses the work’s underlying themes, but while it may not be another Peeping Tom, The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael at least deserves its chance for a second look.