Junkhearts (2011)

Director: Tinge Krishnan​

Cast: Eddie Marsan, Tom Sturridge, Romala Garai, John Boyega and introducing Candese Reid

Frank (50s) is an ex-soldier, haunted by a violent past. He lives alone, drowning his nightmares with alcohol. Christine (30s) – smart and successful… on the surface, tackles life as a single working mother by immersing herself in drugs, parties and sex. Lynette (17) a young rough sleeper watches Christine stumble out of a club whilst she sits in the cold waiting for loose change to fall on her lap; her luck seems to change when she meets Frank who despite his misgivings, offers her a place to stay.

In Lynette, Frank sees the daughter he abandoned after his shattered return from Northern Ireland. As their relationship blossoms, she becomes his last chance to re-create himself as a father. For the first time in years he sobers up and life takes on some meaning.

But Lynette isn’t all she seems. Recruited by her drug dealer boyfriend, Danny, to find a new base for his dealing, she has targeted Frank. When her genuine fondness for him and their emerging friendship takes her by surprise, she attempts to break away from her previous life. Such fragile happiness can’t last. Danny reappears like an addict’s relapse. Darkly handsome and fiercely manipulative, he charms his way past both of them, and a tense psychological struggle ensues. As Danny tightens his hold on the house and its inhabitants, Lynette begins to slide into addiction and fear. Frank’s battle becomes as much for her safety as his own.