Unfortunately, Fast Girls fails to answer any of these questions well, as it quickly becomes a predictable, mundane film.
The film itself follows the two main protagonists, Shania Andrews (Lenora Crichlow) the ghetto girl who is down on her luck and Lisa Temple (Lily James) the upper-class, rich girl who has her own set of problems with her divorced parents. Both girls are at the top of their game in track running and both of them want to be the best. When they are forced to run as part of the same relay team by their coach, Tommy (Noel Clarke) they soon realise that they must learn to work with each other rather than against each other. Along the way, they will face love dilemmas with the team physiotherapist, Carl (Bradley James), face off against Lisa's over-powering Father, David Temple (Rupert Graves) and face multiple public humiliations in loosing exhibition games before they can finally band together as a team.
As you can guess, I'm not a major fan of Fast Girls. My main issue with the film is that it's very uninspiring. It takes the well-worn sports film genre and does nothing different to try and invigorate new life into it.
Is there the underdog who can't afford the professional training? Check.
Is there the overpowering parent who is living their sports dreams through their child? Check.
Is there the physiotherapist who can't compete anymore because of an injury but acts as an inspiration to the protagonist to keep going? Check.
It's just all very... blah. You know the twists and turns before they even happen. In fact, it becomes a bit boring. If you've seen, say... Bring It On (or any other cheesy, inspirational sports film), then this film is just the same, but with track runners (and less laughs). It even follows the same structure down to the successful race at the end - and no, I didn't just include a major spoiler then. If you didn't realise that they were eventually going to be successful as a team, then you really need to pay more attention in films...
I feel bad, because I feel like I should be supporting British filmmakers, but even the direction was quite bland. First time Director, Regan Hall's shining point in this film is the use of slow motion in the running races. It was the only point in the film where I felt any tension, even though it was written out who was going to win/lose in every race. Even when the script tries to inject some life and grit into the film, mainly through Shania's troubled home life, Hall still uses basic generic camera shots and style.
Now, maybe I should be easy on a first-time Director - it's his first feature film and he is still learning, but when something is staring you in the face (the gritty London council estates), it doesn't take much to try a bit of shaky-cam to add some grittiness to your filming style, does it?!
However, there is a saving grace to Fast Girls, and that is through the carting of Lenora Crichlow. I am a little bit of a fan (mainly through her turn in the TV show Being Human), but even though she is given little to work with, she still manages to shine through as the troubled protagonist, Shania. If anything, I would have liked to have seen more of her struggles with her Aunt and her troubled sister, Tara (Eastenders star, Tiana Benjamin.)
So, is Fast Girls worth seeing? If you like your sports films, then you can't go wrong because it methodically ticks every single box of the genre. If you are a general film-goer, like myself, then you may find it to teeter on the edge of boredom and the mundane.
** / *****
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