Victims
Whilst Nicole (Kerrie Hayes) may come from a poorer Liverpool estate whilst Jasmine's (Nichola Burley) family are from a more affluent side they share one thing in common. They are both infatuated with Liverpool footballer Lee Cassidy (Jamie Doyle) and it is through their shared love of the footballer and aspirations to become a footballer's wife that they bond. And it is together that their infatuation goes too far and becomes obsession when they find themselves with their hero one night.
I am not sure what I make of "Kicks" as it has a strangely real vibe which in the wake of all the storylines of historic abuse involving celebrities and minors makes it kind of uncomfortable. As such you have Nicole who comes from a broken home with little in the way in guidance and little to fill her days other than mooning over footballer Lee and whilst I don't live in Liverpool Nicole could easily be one of the school girls who walk to and from school along the street where I live probably not destined for much, unable to escape the world she dreams of escaping. But it isn't just Nicole who is real as Jasmine is just as real coming from a more affluent world but one no less messed up when it comes to their marriage and relationship with Jasmine.
The thing is that whilst this develops from just a teenage infatuation as Nicole and Jasmine end up holding Lee prisoner in a boat house it plays upon the whole aspect of celebrity power to have control over someone. And it is entertaining yet intentionally uncomfortable especially as these girls go from being teenage fans to dangerous women. I won't go in to detail of what happens but the longer "Kicks" goes on the more uncomfortable it all becomes.
Now I had better point something out because I am a film fan first and a movie reviewer secondly and as such all my reviews focus on how much a movie entertains me. But when it comes to "Kicks" this is a movie which is just as much about what it is saying about the world we live in as it is about what happens and then makes it very much a movie for students of film who will be able to enjoy reading between the lines about the social commentary.
What this all boils down to is that "Kicks" works as a piece of entertainment and takes us from realism into a really uncomfortable area to do with celebrity power. But I would guess that for film students "Kicks" has even more going on with what it is saying between the lines when it comes to the power of celebrity.
