Review: A Kind of Kidnapping – “A charmingly cynical satire”

Set in a post-Brexit Britain, hapless taxi driver Brian (Jack Parry-Jones) yearns for a job in coding, seeing that as the future for sustainable work. While his girlfriend Maggie (Kelly Wenham) struggles to launch her acting career. Together, the two hatch a scheme to kidnap their local politician and demand a ransom. The setting is ripe for political satire, but doesn’t do anything as provocative as it leads you to believe it will.

Jack Parry-Jones (The Crown, Our Girl) is convincingly pathetic, you do feel like he’s getting the worst deal out of everything he does. Whereas Kelly Wenham just isn’t as convincing in her role, she definitely having fun but her opening scene has her overacting at an audition and she carries that energy for most of the film. The cast is rounded out by Patrick Baladi (Line of Duty, The Office) as the slimy politician Hardy, suitably arrogant and opportunistic you wonder if he’s based on a particular MP or the worst traits of them all.

Where the film excels is in mocking MPs. Adultery, corruption, subtle racism and indifference to voters – it’s all on display by Hardy and in the current political climate it’s hard to call it satire. At this point Hardy feels normalised, he’s not shocking because we’ve been desensitised. Whereas Brian and Maggie deconstruct the struggling working class, the film’s eye is critical on them both, Maggie is impulsive and Brian is meek, it’s a toxic combination.

In a key scene, Maggie is working the late shift as a waitress when she serves Hardy the wrong meal, it is not her first time and she’s just as unprofessional as Hardy is rude. Meanwhile, Hardy is confronted by his wife over his affair. He dismisses her as it was “a week ago”. There’s no praise on either side of politics but a mid-credit scene does put one on top and is possibly my favourite part. The satire then gets muddled by a sex scene. Which, other than being provocative, emphasises that even in sex an MP will lie down and avoid doing any labour.

A Kind of Kidnapping elicits some laughs, but its satire is nowhere near biting as real life on MPs or the electorate. There’s a charming cynicism in this approach to satire that mocks both post-Brexit politicians the struggling working class.

The film hits cinemas on 13th July and Digital on 24th July 2023.