Nicolas Hoult makes a far cry from his bumbling sidekick in About a Boy and cocky protagonist in Skins here, as the angst-ridden teenage who is always having to play second fiddle in his parents' affections due to his brother Ben, who suffers from Down's Syndrome.
When he is uprooted from his North London home and recently procured girlfriend to live in Derbyshire, Ben's resentment and hatred towards his brother grow and grow, before he decides to take Ben onto a camping trip to "teach him a lesson", but learning more about himself in doing so.
Well-acted, gripping, efficiently paced and sharply written, Coming Down the Mountain proved to be a very satisfying watch, with Hoult giving a heart-wrenching performance but in particular Tommy Jessop shining as his disabled brother. Mark Haddon, who wrote the beautiful The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night Time, has done a good job with the script here, though the "descending into self-harm" vignette made me roll my eyes a little; very, very cliche. Apart from that, strong work all round.
Other TV I've been watching is this show that I've had recommended to me, Gilmore Girls. I saw the pilot, and I can't say I'm that impressed. Its brand of quick-fire dialogue and witty repartee amused me at first but then I just thought it weird and not at all realistic. I'm a big fan of Alexis Bledel so I may continue watching, but it's going to have to do more than just make comments about society to grab my attention.
Lastly, is this the most awesome vintage poster you've seen? I think it's definitely up there.
