Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Regan Takes Sundance Grand Jury Prize with Debut ‘Scrapper’

Cinema | September 3rd, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

In Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Scrapper,” her feature debut as writer and director, Charlotte Regan establishes a much more whimsical tone than the darker notes sounded by Charlotte Wells in her masterful “Aftersun.” There are more than enough stories exploring difficult father-daughter relationships to chalk up the similarities between the two movies as a fluke of timing, but Regan’s film faces the unenviable challenge of premiering in the wake of so many critical accolades deservingly showered on Wells’s own cinematic arrival. Regan’s entertaining film won’t land at the top of as many year-end “best of” lists as its predecessor, but it is worth seeking out.

Regan introduces the viewer to protagonist Georgie (Lola Campbell), a resourceful 12-year-old devoted to avoiding placement within the foster care system following the death of her mother. Georgie, like the plucky hero of a classic young adult novel, stays one step ahead of the authorities, enlisting the aid of voice recordings from a convenience store employee to fool any social worker who attempts to confirm her welfare. Without any responsible grownup in sight, Georgie turns to petty crime with pal Ali (Alin Uzun) to make ends meet until the surprise arrival of her previously absent father Jason (Harris Dickinson).

Like Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio, the sparking (and sparkling) chemistry between Campbell and Dickinson propels the action and engages the viewer. Regan draws from the tradition of wise-beyond-their-years kids reversing roles with adults who could use some parenting of their own. Sheila O’Malley, who wrote a terrific 2019 piece on the golden age of “tomboy movies” for “Film Comment,” picked up on the “Paper Moon” vibes in her “Scrapper” review for the Roger Ebert site. Just as we are given permission to cheer the generational con artists in Bogdanovich’s movie, Regan sympathizes with a dad who passes down his bicycle-theft knowledge to his offspring.

Dickinson, who has been so great in projects like “Beach Rats” and “Triangle of Sadness,” nails the contradictions of Jason’s arrested development. Longing for connection and a sense of greater responsibility, the performance illustrates how much childhood remains inside someone who became a parent while still a kid himself. Paired with Campbell, a newcomer who more than holds her own with the screen veteran, Dickinson finds all kinds of places only hinted at in the script. Georgie’s grief at the loss of her closest companion and caregiver may be more outwardly apparent, but Jason also earns our empathy.

Paul Klein identifies similarities and differences between “Aftersun” and “Scrapper,” but argues that both are important films for the simple fact that their portrayals of “people from broken homes and lower incomes” avoid demonizing many choices that might be seen as symptoms of class struggle.

Klein goes on to commend Regan’s decision to emphasize Georgie’s use of fantasy and imagination rather than to focus on poverty and suffering. Multiple reviews have overstated the various ways in which “Scrapper” evokes the cinema of Wes Anderson, but there is no question that Regan’s Georgie-level worldview carefully stylizes what would otherwise be grim reality. 

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee NelsonMore than 1,000 pro-worker events are planned for Thursday, May 1 across the country, including rallies in Fargo-Moorhead, Grand Forks, Minot and Jamestown. East Grand Forks and Bismarck will host protests…

From concerts and car shows to Japanese art and Juneteenth celebrations, there's so much going on around the region this summer. This year's High Plains Reader Summer Events Calendar is back and bigger than ever. It's packed with…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com One description that perhaps aptly describes the mental state of many lately is that they feel they are attached to a string. Or several strings. Call it the notion that people are played like puppets,…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comFor sale: White House in D.C. housing dung beetles and giant leechesI suspect someone close to Donald Trump has read “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,”because the Trump administration is…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com After a very inspiring conversation with Kayla Houchin of Sonder Bakehouse a few weeks ago, I decided that it’s an appropriate time to write a column about some of the sweet people who are involved…

Mooncats and Pert Near Sandstone play Empire TheatreBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comThe MoonCats describe themselves as “Americonscious Campfire Folk.” They have a clear acoustic folk sound with a sense of whimsy — think…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Antonella Sudasassi Furniss constructs an engaging sophomore feature with “Memories of a Burning Body,” selected by Costa Rica to be entered for consideration as a possible Oscar…

By Raul Gomezraul@hpr1.com Minutes before Modern’s Celebration of Life opened its door at the Sons of Norway, I was fiddling with the bar computer, trying to pull up the playlists of Modern’s work I had set aside for the…

By John Showalterjohn.d.showalter@gmail.comHigh Plains Reader had the opportunity to interview two mysterious new game show hosts named Milt and Bradley Barker about an upcoming event they will be putting on at Brewhalla. What…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There appear to be differences in the incidence of mental illnesses between men and women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression, post-traumatic stress…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson.nd7@gmail.com Our trucking business has me driving almost daily from gas plants in western North Dakota's oil patch to Canada. I haul natural gas liquids (NGLs) products we used to see flared off at…