Negative Aesthetics

The slight and soft-eyed British actor Frank Dillane is in every scene of the London-set drama Urchin. That would put pressure on any performance, but it’s compounded by the approach taken by first-time writer-director Harris Dickinson which gives priority to Dillane’s physical presence – his itchy, jerky movement – at the expense of other tools for revealing character and generating interest. Dillane, who won two prizes at this year’s Cannes, is the main attraction.