Surge is a 2020 British psychological drama thriller film, directed by Aneil Karia from a screenplay by Karia, Rupert Jones and Rita Kalnejasis. It stars Ben Whishaw, Ellie Haddington, Ian Gelder and Jasmine Jobson.
It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2020 and was released in the United Kingdom on 28 May 2021, by Vertigo Releasing.
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Premise
A mentally ill man goes on a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation in London.
Cast
Ben Whishaw as Joseph, Alan and Joyce’s son
Ellie Haddington as Joyce, Joseph’s mother and Alan’s wife
Ian Gelder as Alan, Joseph’s father and Joyce’s husband
Jasmine Jobson as Lily
Laurence Spellman as Scott
Ryan McKen as Emre
Muna Otaru as Adaeze
Bradley Taylor as Patrick
Ranjit Singh Shubh as Jonathon
Chris Coghill as Hamish (Best Man)
Clare Joseph as Sarah (Bride)
Perry Fitzpatrick as Bradley
Release
The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2020. In January 2021, Vertigo Releasing acquired U.K. and Irish distribution rights to the film. It was released on 28 May 2021. In June 2021, FilmRise acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film. The film went on to gross $34,444 worldwide.
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 79% of 56 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Discomfiting by design, Surge will wear some viewers down -- but Ben Whishaw's mesmerizing performance keeps the action gripping even when it's hard to take."
Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
Whishaw received World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival.
