Bridgend (2015) User Reviews

It could have been better...

[Vikingbyheart · 6/10 · 26 August 2016]

Between 2007 and 2012 were committed 79 suicides by hanging in Bridgend County, a coal mining province in Wales, and mostly among teenagers. Based on this tragic true story, the film Bridgend, directed by Danish rookie Jeppe Rønde who until then only made documentaries, is a fictionalized version of the case. The story revolves around the protagonist Sara (played by Hannah Murray, known for the character Gilly, of Game of Thrones), a young woman who moves to a small town in Bridgend County due to her father's job relocation, the police officer Dave (played by Steven Waddington; he starred in the movie Imitation Game - 2014). Being a new girl in town Sara does not have any friends and her favorite hobby is riding her horse, Snowy. But gradually she gets drawn into a group of mysterious teenagers who appear to be connected to the wave of suicides, which causes concern of her father, who investigates the deaths.

To make this movie the director Rønde spent six years researching, interviewing and accompanying the teenagers who lived in the area and wrote the script based on their stories. There are theories about the deaths, but local authorities still do not know what motivated the suicides in which the film was based. Another detail is that the motion picture was filmed in the very Bridgend County.

The film portrays the reckless life of teenagers and uses the clichés that are already well known in adolescence representations: parties ruled by alcohol, cigarette, riots and dips in the lake, in a quest for freedom, to experience feelings without worrying about the consequences of your own acts. The intergenerational conflict is another point addressed and is showed by the gap between parents and children, who can not interact or communicate with each other.

With a gloomy and gray, grim and melancholic atmosphere, Magnus Nordenhof Jonck's photography (known for his work in Kapringen - A Hijacking - 2012 and Krigen - A War - 2015) creates a claustrophobic tone that makes you feel as if something terrible could happen at any time. Part of this constant tension effect is also built by Mondkopf's soundtrack, which uses the electronic sound to keep the suffocating tone in the movie. Bridgend quite remember the movie The Witch (2015) for the setting yearned in each frame.

Despite having an efficient cast the film could have developed the characters more. Another weak point was the way the script was written. The story does not follow a specific line and ends up being confused and not promoting the necessary understanding. The narrative focuses only on the lives of adolescents, leaving aside important parts as the parents viewpoint, the investigative work of the police and how the suicides affect the local community. Rønde was bold in its proposal to portray a difficult subject in an abstract way and ended up delivering a smaller film than it could be. Especially for the setting and the visual quality that are top- notch. Perhaps part of the answers that were left unclear can be found in the documentary Bridgend (2013).

Originally posted in: https://vikingbyheart.blogspot.com.br

Very mixed emotions here.

[subxerogravity · 6/10 · 14 May 2016]

Got to be honest, I did not get what was going on. I'm thinking perhaps I'm just too old to understand what's going on in the minds of teenagers, though at the same time, I do remember times as a teenager when I left like just letting go.

The movie is based on actual events. A small town in the south of Whales that has had a high suicide rate among teenagers from 2007- 2012 and no explanation was given for why this was happening as the teens killed themselves without giving one.

It looks like the filmmakers are trying to make as real of a narrative as possible to what was going on in the town. Exploring the day to day lives of these kids as they attempt to live their lives to the fullest until one day they just decide they don't want to anymore.

I did like the look of the movie, and how it flowed. The main character, Sara was great to look at, I loved her interactions with other characters such as Thomas and Jamie, it was beautiful to watch and felt very natural, just a bunch of kids connecting. Also felt the music greatly added to the film. Bridgend really feels like the filmmakers are running the events through their heads to find an answer themselves to what's going on but never do.

Bridgeend works without a plot, which does not work for me. The movie is met for a certain type of person and I'm definitely not that person it's trying to reach and I just have to except that.

I did like the cinematography the art direction and the acting, but the concepts do not reach me and because of that I needed the answer these kids could not find.

True Events Unknown Story

[MugseyGrant · 6/10 · 23 August 2016]

Bridgend tells the story of the true events that took place across the town of Bridgend and the tragic deaths of many teenagers who committed suicide. People out of the UK might not know the story very well and might have a failed understanding of this film. I feel the film tells the story very well and has and good cast members but would like to have seen a bigger look into the victims. This film no doubt upset many people including family member and might be a reason as to why it's never been officially released. Its not for those who are senactive to these situations and wouldn't say expect anything from it unless you want to learn a little bit more about the events that shock Wales. Visiting this town myself can relate to how the film is set and feel this was a very brave move making a film about this for all those involved.

Awkward, confusing, and a disrespectful depiction of tragic events

[singleyem · 2/10 · 31 July 2016]

I'm not sure why this movie has such a high rating. It attempts to be "artsy" but just ends up being awkward and confusing. The movie basically just consists of a group of punk degenerates partying, drinking excessively, committing crimes, and doing bizarre things. Oh and there's some suicides. Random shots thrown in that have nothing to do with the story. The plot makes no sense. There's a few suggestions as to why these kids are committing suicide like cult-like activity, parent blaming, and mental illness (or supernatural depending on your view) but nothing is ever really explained or shown. It's purposefully vague, I get that, but what's the point of the film other than to show that continuous suicides are scary? There is a detective but he is pretty pointless since he never actually really does anything of use.

The biggest problem with this movie is that it's supposedly based on true events but it does no justice to those events. The only truth is the fact of how many suicides there were which is written in text. The real story didn't involve a cult or even an exclusive group of friends. At most one of the teens who committed suicide knew like 3 others that did. Most knew one other person and it was a sort of chain that passed through not only bridgend but the entire County, so not exclusively bridgend. But the worst part is the portrayal that these kids were all degenerates who partied constantly and had no individuality. It is a disservice to show them in the way they did. The actual people were normal every day people. Some were happy with future aspirations for college and careers who made people laugh and contributed to society. Others did drink and have issues with the law. But the point is that they were individuals and not in any way like they were portrayed. On top of that it is insinuated that the parents of the kids are abusive or neglectful. The real parents that have given public interviews are clearly shown to be loving parents that were close with their children. I just can't imagine why a filmmaker would make the decision to portray victims of a real tragedy in such a negative and untrue way. It's completely disrespectful. If they wanted to create such a fictional story then they should have just called it something else and not used the notoriety of this tragedy just to profit from it. There is really no truth to this interpretation other than that there are suicides in a place called Bridgend. There is also no hope given in the movie at all. And what I mean is that many hoped this film would shed light on the issue of suicide and help the crisis. All this film does is make it look like it's inevitable, people are committing suicide and there's nothing anyone can do. How is that helping the cause? There is a documentary also called Bridgend that is much more enlightening and interesting. It brings to light real issues in the community like poor mental health services that could be fixed and prevent suicides instead of what this film shows: that it's a crazy cult-like group and there's nothing they can do in their depressing town but kill themselves.

Never leave town!

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 5 November 2017]

Tricky. For anyone familiar with the very real instance about the spate of suicides that has blighted the Welsh county of Bridgend, then this film is likely to be a mixed viewing experience. For sure during the film one can't help but keep thinking about the real events, the theories and facts of such, so it's a little distracting because Jeppe Rønde's film demands the utmost attention throughout.

It should be noted with all seriousness that this is only a meditation on the real events, it's not offering up answers, so people should seek out all official text and documentary of the events for the real picture. The film operates in the haunting space of the ethereal, both narratively and visually, with the youngsters at the story's core firmly caught between two worlds. The behaviour of the youths here will cause consternation in some quarters, their recklessness and daring on the surface not making sense, but really that's the point. Sense doesn't operate, not here or in the real world.

There's a number of striking sequences that show Jeppe Rønde as someone who has something to offer the indie art cinema circle. Such as the naked youngsters floating silently in the lake that has become their getaway place, and the finale at same lake that is akin to lambs paddling to their slaughter. Of course the director has had to fend off charges of sensationalism, romanticising suicide etc, that was to be expected, but he hasn't. He has produced a film of intrigue and emotional depth, one that stays with you long after that haunting final shot has vanished. 7/10

Bridgend lacks focus and contrast

[TomHofland · 3/10 · 6 August 2016]

How did this film came to be? My guess is Rønde must have heard about these actual suicides and thought to himself: 'this sounds like it came straight from a film.' I get that. It's mysterious, it's horrific. So potentially good film material, right? Well, not always.

One of the biggest questions I have is: what is the film about?

When doing a film about these factual suicides it roughly comes down to two choices the filmmaker has:

A: try to come up with a believable answer to why these suicides are happening

B: don't try to explain, but simply make the viewers feel the distress of not knowing why these terrible things are happening.

On Bridgend, they kind of tried to do both. We get some leads as to why these kids are ending their lives (bad parenting, peer pressure, supposedly boring village culture) but all these explanations go a bit 'meh' as the film progresses.

So are we to assume that Rønde does not want to explain why these suicides are happening? That's fine. But what is the film about, if it's not to shed light on the 'why'? Is it about how much despair the suicides cause in the lives of the parents? We barely see the parents in the film, and when we do they just seem uninterested. Perhaps it is a mystery film about the police trying to solve the unsolvable, and that some things just can't be explained? I would have loved that, but in order to feel that someone in the film must at least try to explain it (and then fail).

Dave, the father of our protagonist Sara, is a detective. He would be in the perfect position to be 'the eyes of the audience.' He is trying to discover why these kids kill themselves, just as we are when we are watching the film. Dave's introduced, we learn he's a detective, so we think he's going to do some snooping around: trying to get a grip on the situation these kids, and his daughter, are in. But that doesn't happen. His profession ads absolutely nothing to the story. He's as passive as all the other adults are in town. Now I hear what you might be thinking: 'The film is about the passive community and failed police system that is unable to stop these suicides because they are just so darn...passive.' Valid point and would be interesting, but I don't believe that because i feel the focus is too much on these kids to be about the community. For now, let's agree to disagree.

OK, things are getting complicated, so for now i'll go with this one: Sara is our protagonist so let's assume the film is about her transformation. She comes to town all fresh and positive, and ends up hanging herself. Now that is a very interesting premise. It would be really interesting to see her transformation in a believable way. But yet, when she hanged herself in the final moments of the film, I could only think of the popular 'that escalated quickly' meme. Here we come to one of the points I disliked the most about the film: the characters.

All of the characters in this film lack one thing: likability. To be fair: Sara starts of likable enough. She feels the same thing as the viewer: she also thinks screaming the name of your dead friend while taking your clothes of in a forest is a bit weird so, we sympathize with her. After that however, the film went down hill for me. We have some 'bonding' scenes, which are supposed to make Sara grow close to the group. Yet they felt so, so awkward. All they do is drink, scream, and fight topless. For me, those things don't feel like bonding activities, so it's hard for me to believe that Sara wants to stick around (not to mention Sara almost gets raped twice by her friends). Nothing significant happens that would actually make Sara feel connected to the group. Every single one of these kids just got on my nerves, and then, in a flash, Sara is one of them. Now I know these are things that happen in real life. So am I not 'getting it' because I'm not a violent, depressed teenager? Well isn't the point of film that you can identify with people that are way different from you? If made properly, I could have felt like I could have been one of those kids. (I mean: I felt bad for Gollem, and he was a deformed hobbit.) But the kids just felt in no way relatable. They were flat characters. Their only emotion was being angry and rebellious.

That's the second biggest flaw of this film: the lack of contrast. Everything is dark: the kids, the parents, the images and the soundtrack. Dark things happening to dark people with dark music in the background. They tried to put 'happy' scenes in with Sara and Jamie, but even those felt kinda depressing.

This must be said: most of the actual cinematography was brilliantly done and the acting was superb at times. There just wasn't much to act other than 'I'm angry and depressed.' So maybet I don't like gloomy films? 'Drive' by Nicolas Wending Refn was gloomy as hell, and I would personally never stomp somebody's head in with my foot, but when Ryan Gosling did it, I felt horrified yet also sorry for him. Why? Because he also had positive attributes I could relate to. He was human, even when he did inhuman things. No matter how dark or gritty your film is, we need to at least be able to feel related to one person in the film, otherwise we are just going to be sitting there in the dark thinking: what are these crazy people doing now?

Emotionally and visually powerful

[filmbizarro · 7/10 · 12 August 2015]

Between the years of 2007 and 2012, 79 suicides have been reported in Bridgend County Borough in Wales. This horrible real life even is the source for the story of "Bridgend". Media has been part of the blame for many of the suicide, for bringing them to attention in the wrong way. Apparently "Bridgend" has been banned in the county, but I don't know if these are rumors. It's understandable if a lot of people find that a movie like this is distasteful, and perhaps made too soon. I am not here to judge the production of the movie, but I will be giving my two cents about the movie itself below.

From what I can gather, the story of "Bridgend" is not too far detached from the reality. It's set in Bridgend County, where many mysterious suicides among young have taken place. We follow a young woman who moves to Bridgend with her father. He's a cop and is quickly getting familiarized with the horrific situation that the town finds itself in. Sara is a shy and quiet girl, but somehow she gets drawn into the gang of youngsters that are directly associated with the kids that have been committing suicides.

One thing that is striking about reality and the movie, is that the reasons behind the suicides are unknown. The movie portrays a small town with kids that have nothing to do - so they enjoy themselves with alcohol, vandalism, and hanging out with each other. Now and then, they are one person short as a suicide has taken place. It can be speculated upon that there's a cult mentality behind everything, and that seems to be the most believable reason. The exact why's are not ventured into at depth, but with the style of the movie that makes it all the more powerful.

Somewhere between a profound art-house film and a social drama, "Bridgend" can jump from being realistically bleak to visually stunning in just seconds. It's not that the movie is in any way trying to bend reality like, say, Lars von Trier. Rather, it gives us a moment to breathe and let us gather our thoughts. After all, the movie does not romanticize the situation it is based on. It's sad movie about something that is hard to accept, and we feel completely helpless (as we are). I can still understand those that see "Bridgend" as further glamorization of the events, but the heart and soul of the movie seems to be to show us the horrible realities that many of us are unaware of.

This is not a movie to watch if you want something light-hearted. There are no moments of relief here. If you expect a movie that will make you dream about the freedoms of teenagers, then you are on the wrong end of the spectrum. The movie takes you on a dark journey into a group of people who seem destined to commit suicide. That's the reality and that's the truth of what this is. The movie leaves you alone with your thoughts. Is it a good movie? Absolutely. I think many of you will understand this movie and will gather from it exactly what the filmmakers hoped for.

Awful -

[davidpunter · 1/10 · 4 October 2017]

It's a film about a series of serious events involving young people, and does them no justice. Someone trying to be clever, depicting them as a bunch of mindless yobs shouting at the moon, drinking excessively and trashing property. It lurches along aimlessly and I personally ended up feeling I'd lost an hour or so that I would never get back..

Road to nowhere.....

[s3276169 · 7/10 · 13 September 2016]

Thanatos is the drive to death and has often been referred to in recent literature in reference to humanity's drive to self annihilation, faced with seemingly overwhelming social,economic and environmental issues.

Bridgend is its own way taps into this notion. It focuses on a group of young people who seem to have reached the end of hope and view death as their only "accomplishment" in life. Death has a tribal quality, its something that is worshiped as a group and dedication proved by taking life threatening risks, before the final act itself.

The quality of acting is good and the visuals whilst austere, are well rendered and do help infuse the film with a sombre atmosphere. Where this film falls down, for me, is in its story department. Its really difficult to understand what its point is? Indeed, in some respects, it seems rather rhetorical in a rather sad and depressing, way.

In any case, I'll leave it to you to judge the overall worth of this film. Its not for me but that's not to say you might not find something of meaning in its message. Seven out of ten from me.

Rubbish

[password-16943 · 1/10 · 2 October 2017]

I watched this film after watching the you tube documentary that involved interviews with the real people involved. One of the boys who later went on to commit suicide and the parents and their feeling. Watching this movie was a complete waste of time. Although there have never been any answers to why this all happened the documentary was far more interesting and moving and thought provoking. Don't waste your time watching the movie.

How do you escape?

[Clipster12 · 9/10 · 22 August 2016]

If you live in the back of beyond, where all your parents and grandparents knew each other how do you escape? What is there to live for when there are no jobs or future to look forward to? How do you portray this scenario in a film? Welcome to Bridgend. A dark and melancholic film that does just that. Everything is dark, the scenery, soundtrack and outlook give no hope. The teenagers are falling by the wayside, one by one and still no one has any answers. You feel their angst and inevitable demise but it all seems natural. The sign of a good film in my eyes and ears. Not for everyone, a bleak tale if ever there was one but well portrayed non the less.

I really liked this film.

[mumfordi12 · 6/10 · 19 October 2018]

Such an intense movie with so much hard, darkness and yet it's beautiful in a way that is hard to describe. This movie got under my skin. It is highly recommended.

Strong Performances - Ridiculous Storyline

[loisjclark · 2/10 · 4 July 2020]

This is one of those movies that you quite enjoy watching because the acting is good and you want to find out what's going on vis a vis the compelling and suicide-packed plot. Sadly you never do. It becomes increasingly ludicrous without respite. Shame. I thought it was going somewhere...

Hands off my heart!

[BobNoOneHundred · 1/10 · 11 May 2018]

It is much worse when a heart surgeon messes up than when an accountant messes up.

If you want to deal with other people's sensitive issues you better be qualified for the task, or you will end up in a really awful mess.

Bridgend has beautiful images and sound, good actors that seem to have been directed well. All that does, is polish up something that is fundamentally flawed.

Word of advise to writer: The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so 1) get better at understanding other people's experience, or 2) write about something less sensitive or something much closer to your own personal experience*, or 3) let other people do the writing.

* Lack of experience with teenage misery, if we consider that mitigating circumstances, actually speaks to your benefit.

Pointless Mess of a Film

[mcjensen-05924 · 1/10 · 27 July 2023]

It's not easy to take a compelling a story as this and turn it into a disaster that's barely watchable. The one star is for the lead girl and a few decent shots of the countryside. So many awful things about this movie, but I think the worst is probably the cliche and horrible relationship between father and daughter. It's just so ridiculously not credible in any fashion. He's the biggest idiot in town and and how he manages to maintain his job is a mystery that defies all reason. He's a bully/brute one moment then he seems to all of a sudden care about his daughter. All the kids do is wear hoodies, get wasted and dance around like clowns. Why there's a priest cast as a somewhat important character is baffling, as nothing he says or does moves things in any discernible direction. Nothing gets resolved. Barely anything happens. There was potential here for a compelling movie, but the aimless direction and trite dialogue drags it into very mundane territory. I'm not going to waste any more time on this thing. I finally got to the end. Absolute crock of doo doo. Insulting to anyone with an ounce of intelligence. The word that keeps racing to the forefront of my mind is Ineptitude.

Awful waste of time

[ochi_chernye · 1/10 · 2 February 2024]

I followed this incident very closely as it happened, can still remember all the names and faces and their mourning parents and siblings, and years later also watched that documentary another poster mentioned which was just absolutely.harrowing.

This one claims to be based off that mysterious cluster of suicides, but it is just vacuous, pretentious, and unclear as to what they even wanted to portray, with unnecessary multiple r*pey / sex scenes to top it all off. I can't help but suspect they just wanted to exploit the actual kids' tragic deaths for wider publicity and sensationalism.

The worst of all for me personally, though, was that the lead actress' mouth was always, always, always half-open with her teeth showing, which kept me distacted/annoyed for a whole hour of nonsense before I said enough.

Look Elsewhere If You're Looking For Horror.

[fatfil-414-451797 · 4/10 · 6 December 2022]

This is a social drama, not a horror movie, in the true sense of the word. I am getting a bit tired of movies in the horror section, that really aren't horror. Wasted too many hours watching some truely aweful pschodramas. Having said that, it is a real shame they chose to slot this into the horror catagory, as it is actually not a bad film, if a little muddled in places and has a relevant story to tell.. The basic premis, a cop arrives in a town that has had a spate of ongoing male teenage suicides. Almost 80 in 5 years, that works out to just over one every 3 weeks. An alarming numer, particularly as it is based on historical fact, if more than a little exaggerated.

The films main problem from my perspective, is that it is a journey with no destination. Nothing is really explained, there are hints of some kind of cult, or supernatural influence, but it never goes beyond hinting. The final scene is beautifully cinegraphic, but as a whole the movie would have earned another 2 stars if it hadn't of mascaraded as a Horror film.

Visually Breathtaking

[feltlikealifetime · 9/10 · 2 December 2015]

I'm not sure if the director was inspired buy Dogme 95 but Bridgend makes use of natural light to tell a tragic tale. The camera-work is very intimate and the colors unforgettable. The acting started pretty slow but I was pleased to see that the main female lead could handle drama effortlessly. The film doesn't bog down with plot and has almost no expository dialogue. It reminded me a bit of Wild Tigers I Have Known in terms of nihilistic teens and wild animals and most people might find it "weird" but I left the theatre smiling.

As for the suicide theme, the dialogue was a bit hard to hear it all, honestly, and the motives for suicide were not completely as explored as the characters' motivations for living. Fire provides a dramatic motif with every flame crackle shown and reflected on the wild, boozy, teens' faces.

If you enjoy Gus Van Sant films and can sit through a fairly slow-paced atmospheric film then I think you will love this!

brilliant, fascinating and suicidal!

[diodetheory · 8/10 · 14 November 2015]

the movie analyzed the state of suicidal from all the different angles of the situation, Sara and the others are just hungry for life which the authority and the church are always and forever putting some limits in that town. the question that always being in front of your eyes is "Why?" and you just begin to ask "Why not!!!", it is not like you turned to be suicidal but somehow a person with a deep place in their side, we can be with Sara and her limits and her Jaimee! all of the movie aspects are just amazing, from the screenplay till the sound and visual effects. after the movie is done and you are in your way out of the cinema, you are just thinking in their situations, the day mare you had is just like that "all the things are justified enough to be in that way, they are here, actual youth who are in a continual search for their identity, just the forest of life had been waiting for them, so what is wrong with the actual world to be like that, and the problem is; it is like that!" that group of young people is not suicidal, but it is normal from outside, the effect of this is just you can take all of the youth as suicidal, or just thinking of this demon apparent from the life, and the love and the family. the problem comes to a new dimension with the family, their apart views and tight facts and limits upon us, the youth, and we will go fire the place, make the lights to conquer the view and let the spouses take their bedtime at ease! as an end, the movie is just awesome and i would recommend it to any and every young person on this planet.

Involuntary Lovecraft.

[fivelocks · 8/10 · 17 February 2022]

Usually films that try to recreate the Lovecraftian atmosphere fail. And they fail miserably. Bridgend was not meant to be Lovecraftian, but by the end of the movie all I could think was that Cthulhu would appear in the next scene. I liked it.

Brilliant movie

[natalieannsullivan · 10/10 · 25 October 2017]

Wow this movie sends quite the message if you look for it. What an incredible film. Brought tears to my eyes. Hopefully this movie can open others eyes and hopefully it spreads awareness. One of the best movies I think I've ever seen. Bravo to the filmmaker as well as to the cast and everyone involved with the film.