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RUNTIME
Did you know
Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Ellen
2016 1h 15m EN
💀
4.8
SKIP
★4.8TMDB · 10
Drama
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
A tearaway teenage girl, at war with her mum, and trying to take control of her life, forms an amazing and unbreakable bond with a new friend. They raise hell, stick two fingers up at the world, and laugh like they never have before... but can Ellen avoid becoming just another statistic?
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Jessica Barden
Ellen
Jaime Winstone
Nicole
Yasmin Monet Prince
Kayla
Joe Dempsie
Jason
Charlie Creed-Miles
Leon
Johann Myers
Graham
Amelda Brown
Nan
Xirone Russell
Jimmy Bird
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Mahalia Belo
- Writers
- Sarah Quintrell
- Languages
- English
- Countries
- United Kingdom
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Mahalia Belo directs. Chloë Thomson behind the camera. Jonathan Hill scores. Carmela Iandoli cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
- 2Released 10 years ago.
- 3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 4Directed by Mahalia Belo, shot by Chloë Thomson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 5Original score by Jonathan Hill. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 6Editor Carmela Iandoli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 7Jessica Barden and Jaime Winstone and Yasmin Monet Prince carry the top of the cast.
- 8IMDB entry: tt5959320 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 9Only 10 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Chloë Thomson
- Original score
- Jonathan Hill
- Editing
- Carmela Iandoli
- Production design
- Laura Ellis Cricks
- Runtime
- 75 min · 1h 15m
- Status
- Released
- Original language
- EN
- IMDB
- Ellen (2016)
Also by
Mahalia Belo
Community reviews
What people are saying
- Reno★ 6/10
About a teenager who wanted her life to turn around. The 24 years old Jessica Barden played a 14 year old Ellen in this film. Anyway, she looks so young, fitted to portray the role and in the end she did good. The film was about a school dropout teenage girl whose family is not really supportive to her on anything. So she decides to take full control of her life, but does not know where to begin. It opened with a question asked and ended with the same line. What happens in between is what the film narrates for us as she embark to realise where she really ended. It is a British television film. Feels like a random narration, like not moving in a particular direction. But you will get how much Ellen was frustrated with her life and the people surrounding her. Because they are with their own agenda, especially her mother's new boyfriend. Except one of her neighbours, who is friendly and helping hand whenever she needed one, but a bit older than her whom she has a crush. So in the remaining part, you will witness some unexpected developments. Why I did not like it more is for what the film disclosed at the end. I really did not know what this film was about and I surprised how they concluded it. In our society, things like this happening, but I did not like it to end in a wrong way just to highlight the issue. Other than that, this is a good film, I surely suggest it to the others, mainly because nothing was shown in it as whatever the intentions were in the film plot. 6/10
Production companies
Who made it
- TO
Touchpaper Television
GB
Key crew
- EditorCarmela Iandoli
- Production DesignLaura Ellis Cricks
- Casting AssistantHeather Basten
Release history · US
When it landed
- TV2016-09-01· Channel 4
