Electricity

Some supermodels transition smoothly from the catwalk to the screen. Agyness Deyn has chosen the path of greatest resistance. Seemingly determined to avoid the kind of decorative typecasting that awaits actresses from her professional background, she’s spent the last few years hopping between West End shows and low-key indies.
With Electricity comes her most taxing role yet: as a troubled young woman suffering from the twin evils of epilepsy and a dysfunctional family. Her seizures are imagined as shocking bursts of light and colour. It's a challenging subject, and how such aesthetic licence will be received – especially by those with a familiarity to the illness, remains to be seen, though reports from the London Film Festival screening were largely positive. This may be director Bryn Higgins’ first stab at a feature, but his exemplary track record in TV drama (including Casualty and Silent Witness) inspires confidence. Yet the buzz is all about Deyn, whose performance is likely to woo the arthouse crowd ahead of her role in Terence Davies’ latest film.