The digital revolution has inspired a spate of experimental films, from the home-video style "Blair Witch Project" through naturalistic Dogme to the highly stylised multi-narratives of Mike Figgis' "Timecode", and many pale imitations along the way.
Duncan Roy's "AKA" employs a split screen triptych, otherwise known as three
images on the same screen, to show various simultaneous perspectives of each scene. Gimmicky it may be, but Roy's also managed something that other
digital experiments have lacked: a good story.
Remarkably based on events in Roy's own life, "AKA" is set in late 70s London and follows 18-year-old Dean (Leitch), a working class youth with an abusive father who finds
the ultimate release from his life by masquerading as a rich boy.
Kicked out of home, Dean steals the identity of his new employer Lady Tryffon's (Quick) son and fakes
his way into aristocratic circles, relying on charm, intelligence and desirability to ingratiate himself with high society. In a pre-mobile and internet world, Dean's re-invented personality is accepted by his new decadent friends without so much as a question, or at least, for a while.
Playing an impoverished youth one minute and a spoilt society boy the next, Matthew Leitch gives a dynamic and believable central performance as Dean, whose radical self-reinvention captures the audience's admiration right from the start.
The story could stand alone but the multiple angles give it a much more theatrical feel, dissecting the action and allowing viewers to see what would normally be off-screen. Though the viewing experience takes a bit of getting used to, the film surpasses
its visual quirkiness and is genuinely absorbing to watch.
AKA (2002)
