10×10 (2018) is a tale of the twisted morality born of grief and a desire for vengeance that, for reasons of its own making, ends up feeling contrived.
Lewis (Luke Evans) kidnaps Cathy (Kelly Reilly) from a gym carpark and imprisons her in a ten by ten padded cell. He wants information. She wants to escape. As the battle of wills becomes increasingly desperate, and the tit for tat spites escalate, it seems the only solution is violence.
As compelling as the reasons are for Lewis and Cathy’s actions, my question from the off was a niggle about things off screen. Why is this film trying so hard to be American? Everything about it, apart from a few exterior locations, is British? We have a British director, helming a cast of mostly British actors, delivering lines written by a British writer. Yes they’re delivered in American accents, but the plot and its execution wouldn’t be out of place in the 9pm drama slot on ITV.
I know it has a lot to do with funding and markets but I don’t understand the need for the Americanisation. Any reliance the plot has on guns and religious fundamentalism could’ve been Anglicised. Even with a funding net cast to catch the American market, Noel Clarke could’ve written something closer to home. I’m all for writers stepping outside their comfort zone, but it still has to be fresh.
Perhaps the constraints of having it reflect a uniquely British outlook would’ve rescued the story from the obvious solutions it’s happy to fall back on. The UK has more than enough grief, and it’s own special kind for vengeance, that can without doubt transcend borders. As James Joyce is quoted as saying, “In the particular is contained the universal”.
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