British filmmaker Danny Boyle offers a darkly comic glimpse of life in Britain in this short feature (shot on digital video equipment) produced for the BBC. In Strumpet, Jenna Gee plays the title character, a young woman who plays guitar in a punk rock band. One day, Strumpet is sexually assaulted by a lunatic truck driver, but she's rescued at the last minute by Strayman (Christopher Eccleston), an eccentric street poet. Strayman takes the shaken Strumpet back to his apartment (where his verse is scrawled all over the walls), and the two get to know each other. Before long, a relationship has developed between them, and Strumpet begins adding guitar accompaniment to Strayman's ranting verse. Knockoff (Stephen Walters), one of Strayman's neighbors, overhears them improvising and thinks they may have commercial potential; he offers to become their manager, and sets out to score them a record deal, though polishing their rough edges into a saleable product turns out to be a challenge. While produced for British television, this and another short feature by Boyle, Vacuuming Completely Nude in Paradise, also made the rounds of the international film festival circuit in 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
One of two short features produced for the BBC in the wake of director Danny Boyle's botched big-budget Leonardo DiCaprio vehicle The Beach, Strumpet finds the filmmaker working under a miniscule budget, a tight shooting schedule, and -- best of all -- a renewed emphasis on character and performance. Strumpet may seem the more precious of the two featurettes, and its theme of retaining one's artistic integrity in the face of a corporate sellout runs the risk of being trite. But Boyle and lead Christopher Eccleston run the material through its paces, imbuing it with a warmth, vitality, and spontaneity it wouldn't have had otherwise. With the help of a hand-held camera and a seemingly improvised acting method, Boyle and Eccleston are able to capture that most elusive of qualities: genuine creative inspiration. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
