London to Brighton (18)
- Consumer Advice: Contains very strong language
- Run time: 1 hour 25 mins
- Genre: Thriller / Drama
- Release date: 1st December 2006
- Starring: Lorraine Stanley, Johnny Harris, Georgia Groome
- Directed by: Paul Andrew Williams
- Official Website: www.l2b-themovie.co.uk
- Distributor: Vertigo Films
Plot Synopsis
Joanne. She is 11 years old and crying hysterically. She flinches as Kelly tries to wash the smeared lipstick and mascara from her face. Kelly leaves Joanne in a toilet cubicle to work the street and make some money in order for them to get the train to Brighton and safety.
Several hours earlier, Derek, Kelly's pimp, asks Kelly to find an underage girl for a man called Duncan Allen. Kelly has heard of him: he is well known and very high up the food chain in their world. Initially saying no, she finally agrees when the fee of £200 is mentioned.
Kelly heads to Waterloo on the look out for a runaway. She spies Joanne begging and approaches her. Joanne is feisty and looks like she could handle the task in hand. So Kelly takes Joanne off to a cafe to be vetted by Derek, who, as he can be when he wants something, is all charm and graces. He offers the young runaway £100 to sleep with a man she would never see again. Joanne, who had left home two days ago knows how much money £100 is and agrees. Derek's plan is going well; even a quick and private rebellion from Kelly is quashed with the promise of an extra £50. Twenty minutes later Kelly is putting lipstick on Joanne in the back of a cab on the way to some posh house in Hampstead. "Are you a millionaire?" Joanne asks Duncan Allen and is aghast as he replies, "yes". Duncan Allen takes Joanne upstairs leaving Kelly sitting in the lounge, cringing at what she imagines will be going on.
Back to the present, and Kelly picks Joanne up from the cubicle and drags her to Victoria station to get the first morning train to Brighton. In the hour of calm while dawn is breaking over the fast-moving countryside, the girls start to get to know each other.
Meanwhile, back in London, Duncan's cold and equally brutal son, Stuart, has discovered mayhem at his father's house, blood everywhere, and has Derek shivering with fear in the back of his Range Rover. Derek's leg is sliced open and he is told that if he doesn't find the two girls by tonight he won't see tomorrow.
The chase begins.
After a few hours on Brighton beach the two girls make their way to Kelly's friend Karen's house: a run-down, petty drug nest. They have a shower and work out what they are going to do next. Joanne wants to go to her Gran's house in Devon, a safe place far away from her abusive father. But money is needed to get Joanne there, which means, with a battered face and no sleep, Kelly must go and work.
Off they go to town where Joanne spends a few hours in the seafront arcades while waiting for Kelly to do what she knows best and make some quick money. But in her haste, Kelly leaves her phone at the house - it is answered by a girl, stoned and confused. Derek now knows where the girls are and, with his side kick, Chum, makes his way to Brighton to surprise them.
Later in the afternoon, Joanne has half of her money and enough for the train tickets to Devon. Kelly has worked hard. Smiling for the first time they arrive back at Karen's flat only to be greeted by a furious Derek and his newly acquired shotgun. Derek has the girls and informs Stuart.
Stuart wants everyone to meet in a lay-by just outside of Brighton. Derek and Chum drive up, with the frightened girls in the boot, to await instructions. One of Stuart's men sees Derek's borrowed shotgun and takes it to avoid complications. Derek and Chum are told to follow Stuart's car to a field nearby.
Once there, Joanne is led hysterically to Stuart's car so he can extract the truth of what happened 24 hours ago - who killed his father? While Joanne confesses everything, Derek and Chum are digging a grave big enough for two. Stuart has heard plenty and the hole is deep enough for what he has in mind. As everyone stands around the hole, Stuart has Kelly, Joanne, Derek and Chum hanging on his every word - fear hangs in the air. The shotgun is cocked. Two people are going in that grave and two are going to spend the rest of their lives trying to forget the events of the last 24 hours.