DEPARTURE (15)

WHO’S IN IT?

Juliet Stevenson (Bend It Like Beckham), Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game), Phénix Brossard (The Edge), Finbar Lynch (Suffragette), Niamh Cusack (Hereafter), Patrice Juiff (French Kiss), Frederic Arsenault (film debut), Mathilde Arsenault (film debut), Danièle Catala (film debut), Guillaume Tobo (The Vanishing Point)

WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?

Andrew Steggall (film debut), director, writer; Pietro Greppi (film debut), Cora Palfrey (film debut) and Guillaume Tobo (film debut), producers; Jools Scott (film debut), composer; Brian Fawcett (Afterglow), cinematographer; Dounia Sichov (Marussia), editor

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

Elliot (Lawther) accompanies his mother Beatrice (Stevenson) to their summer home in the South of France, where she intends to break it up as part of her disintegrating marriage. Shortly after arriving, Elliot meets a local boy named Clément (Brossard) and his growing fondness for him soon causes a rift between the already-unstable family…

IN ONE SENTENCE, WHY SHOULD YOU BE EXCITED?

Departure is an intriguing new movie from debuting filmmaker Andrew Steggall, featuring yet another standout performance by rising young actor Alex Lawther after his breakout turn in The Imitation Game.

WHEN’S IT OUT?

FRIDAY 20TH MAY 2016

Search from over ten years of movies here:

Other recent reviews:

After the Hunt (dir. Luca Guadagnino)

A college professor becomes caught between a scandal involving her colleague and her student…

BFI London Film Festival 2025 Reviews: Hamnet, Jay Kelly and more!

Our coverage of this year’s BFI London Film Festival continues with our exclusive write-ups on some of the most buzzed titles from this year’s edition, including Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, It Was Just an Accident and others!

Black Phone 2 (dir. Scott Derrickson)

Finney confronts his former kidnapper in unexpected ways…

Roofman (dir. Derek Cianfrance)

An escaped criminal hides out in a Toys “R” Us store…

Good Fortune (dir. Aziz Ansari)

A guardian angel meddles in the lives of a wealthy entrepreneur and a struggling gig worker…

Plainclothes (dir. Carmen Emmi)

An undercover police officer falls for his latest target…

Tron: Ares (dir. Joachim Rønning)

A super-intelligent program is sent from the digital world to ours for a bold mission…

Good Boy (dir. Ben Leonberg)

A loyal dog witnesses his owner succumb to supernatural forces…

I Swear (dir. Kirk Jones)

A young man with Tourette’s syndrome struggles to live with his condition…

BFI London Film Festival 2025 Reviews: The Secret Agent, Twinless and more!

Our first collection of reviews from this year’s BFI London Film Festival includes write-ups on some of the most anticipated titles from this year’s edition, including Sirât, Left-Handed Girl and others!

Optimized by Optimole