Starfish (2016)

Starfish: Directed by Bill Clark. With Joanne Froggatt, Tom Riley, Phoebe Nicholls, Michele Dotrice. “Starfish” tells the story of a couple whose love is tested to its limit after their perfect life falls apart in a single moment.

“The make-up in this movie is a marvel. Tom Riley (also playing a guy called Tom Ray, Natch) sure looks like heu0026#39;s got a disfigured face and four missing limbs. Poor fellow.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHe contracts sepsis after eating some out-of-date sausages which cause his immune system to overreact (yes I did my homework after the movie was over) and, upon returning home, immediately starts taking out his anger on his family. Not their fault, dude.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis, as you can well imagine, creates a rift… and Starfish is at itu0026#39;s best when it shows the breakdown of this once happy brood. His wife is no longer physically attracted to him, his young daughter no longer recognises him and his newborn son… well, heu0026#39;s just a baby. He doesnu0026#39;t get a vote.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film also shows Tomu0026#39;s struggle to adapt physically to having four new prosthetics to deal with, and the actoru0026#39;s movement is almost enough to convince you he has them under his clothes. Less persuasive is others reaction to his new appearance and gait… in the hard world we live in now, I think heu0026#39;d get a bit worse treatment than one boy staring at him in a newsagent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf nothing else, weu0026#39;re reminded of the salient fact that life can change in an instant and we should make the most out of every second. Starfish isnu0026#39;t a great movie, but it educates and entertains and wonu0026#39;t leave your head anytime soon. 6/10”