A Fly on Richard's Wall
Richard Karlsen (Jack Reynor) has a good life and a glowing future as a talented sportsman at school whilst popular as well. But during the summer whilst hanging with his friends Richard lets his temper get the better of him and one evening does something which not only affects his life but all those around him from his friends to his family.
Spoiler alert: This review contains a spoiler.
So "What Richard Did" is not so much about what Richard did, although he did kick someone in the head and cause them to die, but more of what life is life afterwards. We get to see how as a young man he tries to cover up what he did, lying to the police and getting the backing of his close friends. At the same time we see how it affects him in private from moments of emotion and rage to the realisation he has screwed up only occasionally interrupted by a moment of happiness when he is with his friends. And in fairness it is a well acted movie which covers the situation in a sort of fly on the wall style.
But then in a way that is the issue because at times "What Richard Did" is almost like a fancy fly on the wall documentary, benefiting from a good performance of Jack Reynor and good direction. That doesn't sound terrible but it make it almost meandering at times and for those who require closure will find the sudden ending a real annoyance. I admit I am torn because whilst it kept my attention it didn't really entertain me or make me think I needed to watch it again in case I missed anything.
What this all boils down to is that "What Richard Did" is an interesting movie and I am sure that those who lean towards independent cinema will enjoy it but its documentary style ended up holding this back for me.
