Dummy

Two teenage brothers lose their single mother to a drug overdose – but their ways of dealing with the pain couldn't be more different: while Danny (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) loses himself in music, sex, and drugs, his younger brother Jack (Thomas Grant) actively denies reality: With the help of makeup and his mother's old clothes, he transforms a life-size mannequin into a brand-new “Mommy” with whom he can talk. Jack's obsession with this new family member leads not only to comical misunderstandings, but also to bitter enmity as the two brothers struggle through their grief, anger, and denial. "What makes the film so good, however, is that Thompson never lets this obsessive behavior slip into the gothic genre. The script manages to convince social services to leave the boys alone, but once you accept that, the portrayal of their summer together is completely convincing. This also applies to the surprising ending, which reveals Jack's strength and the extent to which Danny has suppressed his feelings. Thompson, who won the BBC's New Filmmaker's Award in 2003 with his short film ‘Gone’, proves himself to be a promising filmmaker." (Nick Roddick, in: The Standard)