Starring Aiysha Hart, Paddy Considine, Faraz Ayub, Shubham Saraf, Harvey Virdi, Nikesh Patel
Directed by Shan Khan
Expectations: Moderate.
Honour begins with a quote: “Life is nothing without honour,” and all of the film’s characters are in some way affected or driven by their idea of what is honorable. While using the quote to bring our attention to this could be seen as a somewhat heavy-handed move by a first-time writer/director, I think it works rather well. The quote acts as a bell, ringing in the audience’s mind throughout the picture, allowing us to think on the meaning of the quote and the emotions behind it for the characters.
Due to the structure of the film, giving a basic synopsis has the potential of ruining certain aspects of the story that should not be ruined. What matters is that a 20-something girl returns home hoping for refuge, only to find more hostility there than in the outside world. Honour is a thriller that reveals its story like the layers of an onion, allowing the audience to go deeper and deeper into the tale in a highly engaging, non-linear manner. This type of structure is definitely not new to cinema, but it is used here especially well and with much skill; the tension that builds through the film is excellent.