There used to be something almost apologetic or at least self-deprecating about British road movies, as if the makers were well aware how poky and circumscribed they risked looking compared with the thousand-mile journeys essayed in American films. But in this new British road movie, a tale of two troubled teenage boys driving from London to Scotland over a couple of days, it’s as if the film thinks its every cliche is as newly minted and revelatory as the latest dashboard software update. There’s a singing-in-the-car moment of bonding, an accidental discovery of a beautiful seaside landscape, and even that old chestnut, a backstory reveal involving the ashes of a dead loved one. The only thing missing is a high-speed escape from a traffic cop, but maybe the ubiquity of speed cameras on British roads means that doesn’t happen much any more.
Despite the cliches, however, Black Dog does manage to be surprisingly watchable and even touching, thanks to fine performances from the two leads. Jamie Flatters, who co-wrote the script with the film’s director George Jaques (an actor himself, making his feature directing debut), stars as Nathan, a Londoner who has grown up in a group foster home. About to age out of care, Nathan decides to start adulthood by making his way to Scotland to look for the sister he hasn’t seen in years, from whom he was separated at a young age. With his chiselled cheekbones, immaculate teeth and K-pop-star mop of hair, Nathan may look a bit too pretty-boy perfect to pass as a kid in care, but the look sort of works given that he also seems to be hiding inclinations he can’t talk about. It certainly makes him a contrast with nerdy, skittish Sam (Keenan Munn-Francis), a young man whom Nathan was pals with in primary school but who is now deeply troubled by an assortment of mental health issues, including a compulsive need to eat bits of paper. After Nathan saves Sam from an alleyway beating from some other kids, they soon realise they’re both heading north and decide to team up for the drive in Sam’s inherited sensible compact car.
In truth, the early scenes have the over-rehearsed gait of a project that was once a theatre piece, and that’s indeed part of the film’s origin story. But eventually the performances loosen up and both actors bloom into their roles, creating a creditable chemistry. Director Jaques has a nice eye for the anonymous charm of British service stations, and the tight running time is also a bonus.
