Shed Your Tears And Walk Away

This is a straightforward, heartfelt, documentary from Jez Lewis.
The look at rural England, the dull towns so often overlooked, is refreshing. Lewis' own experience of the place means one really feels he is burrowing into what is so often passed over. O.K., it can still be beautiful, but the atmosphere of boozy lounging on a lazy rainy October morning is well evoked. The handheld style, with Lewis not to the fore but also not pretending he doesn't exist, make this documentary a good example of just an honest, no tricks attempt to enter a world.
The extent to which the experiences are turned into narrative are debatable, but to his credit Lewis is clearly not just trying to wrap things up in a neat box. He will sometimes turn the camera off, as it's not acceptable to keep filming; no problem there. Maybe when Cass goes to London it is a little sunshine and lollipops....but who can blame the impression? O.K., Lewis doesn't confront the question of what better life there IS, why his life is so much better, but then again the palpable misery of his friends perhaps in its own downbeat way speaks for itself.
A downbeat film that shines a light onto people one usually either avoids or ignores. For that, a success.