Films of reflection are too few and often the result of climbing to a summit only to gaze back at the shadows never cast in the greedy race for the top ends i tragedy. FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL suggests, by its title, that the story may be different, that there may be some redemption at the core of an abusive life.

Writer/director Baillie Walsh sets his story in opening frames of intense sexual, drug accompanied debauchery. But as the credits fade, the lead character Joe Scott (Daniel Craig) faces a morning of hung over reality. A wealthy Hollywood star whose lifestyle has hastened his aging, Joe is 'managed' by the stern Ophelia (Eve) who is tiring of Joe's wasted lifestyle. Her warnings, as well as Joe's agent's confrontation that Joe is too old looking for a new screenplay, is compounded by a telephone call that Joe's boyhood friend Boots (Max Deacon) has suddenly died, leaving Joe's old first girlfriend Ruth (Claire Forlani) an early widow. Depressed and drunk Joe walks his beach and reflects on his youth. The 'flashback' tales us to Joe's teenage years (the young Joe is Harry Eden) with Boots as his closest friend and Ruth (Felicity Jones),the girl Joe craves. But hormones rule and Joe is an easy prey for his married next door neighbor: during one of their trysts a tragedy occurs that results in Joe's fleeing home for the 'successful' yet empty life he finds in Hollywood.

At the request of Joe's mother (Olivia Williams) he flies back to England where he is forced to confront the early damage he caused in the lives of his family and friends. Daniel Craig and Harry Eden are excellent in their mirrored roles of the young and the older Joe. In fact there is not a weak member of this fine British cast. Though the story takes place in England the film was shot in South Africa (cinematographer John Mathieson) and the rickety beach houses on the small bay where Boots and Joe spend their time is picturesque and adds the right sense of isolation to the story. At 114 minutes the film goes on a bit too long with areas for editing a bit too obvious. But the overall effect of FLASHBACKS OF A FOOL is a satisfying journey through a memory that holds a light to the incidents of youth that can alter too many lives if not mended. Grady Harp

Joe Scot (Daniel Craig) lives a hedonistic Hollywood life. His closest relationship is his assistant Ophelia Franklin (Eve). The self-obsessed actor's career is failing and he gets fired by his agent. His mother calls with bad news about his childhood friend Boots' passing. It's a seaside town in 70's Britain. Teenagers Joe Scot (Harry Eden) and Boots are trouble makers. Joe has a fling with neighbor housewife Evelyn (Jodhi May). He falls for Ruth (Felicity Jones).

The structure is thirty minutes of Daniel Craig, fifty minutes of the past, and twenty minutes of Daniel Craig to wrap it up. It's a rudimentary structure coming from director Baillie Walsh who is more experienced as a music video director. The start has a few interesting bits and Daniel Craig. I don't buy the agent having a fit. Agents are weasels and they would never outright fire a star. They would more likely ghost them. As for the finale, there isn't much drama. Essentially, one can't go home again. Craig is good but I question whether the bookend segments need to be that long. The meat of the story is the flashback. In that section, the story is hampered by a lackluster lead. It does have the electricity of Felicity Jones but the boy has limited acting skills. He is very pretty but lacks charisma. There is a general lack of intensity with the movie. The best scene may well be Felicity Jones dancing in slow motion. This has some interesting bits but lacks tension overall.

"Flashbacks of a Fool" was shown recently on cable. The only interesting thing was the presence of Daniel Craig playing a leading character. Alas, his appearance only comes at the beginning and at the conclusion of the story. He plays Joe Scott, a washed out Hollywood star who has fallen so low no one wants him for any of the films where he could have been considered. This is made plain at the meeting he is taking with his agent at a restaurant. We knew from the start he had a drug problem and loves the type of group sex he can get from expensive prostitutes. After the restaurant fiasco, he runs fully clothed into the ocean, as we suspect the worst.

But no, what happens is a flashback to an early time in a beach community with low income bungalows in what we took to be England, but it is a South Africa of the 1970s. Joe, is a teen ager who is with his mother and a young sister spending the summer there. This is the summer where he first learned the joys of sex. It came in the person of Evelyn, an older married woman, who fancies him. Joe likes Ruth, a girl about his own age, but the lad is too involved with seeing Evelyn on the sly. As a result of the illicit love making, there is a tragedy that will change the way Joe faces life and his becoming a hard man trying to pay for his own mistake.

Baillie Walsh is the creator of the film as well as its director. It is an uneven film, with some good moments. Daniel Craig plays a much more human character this time. His sequence at the beginning of the film is about the best thing in it. Jodhi May plays the pathetic Evelyn. Olivia Williams is Joe's mother. Harry Eden has some good moments as the young Scott.