AKA is writer/director Duncan Roy's thought-provoking memoir of his own youth. He escaped from a brutal, sexually abusive working-class household by assuming the identity of a young aristocrat and became famous - or notorious, rather - in the process.Mr. Roy's movie is brilliantly written, directed, and cast. Matthew Leitch is perfect as Dean, the handsome, sweet, innocently seductive young man who desperately wants a better -- or, to be more precise, another -- life. His intelligence, looks, charm, and manner make people want to believe he is who he says. All the actors are notable and entertaining. Two are exceptional: Diana Quick as the prickly patrician Lady Gryffoyn, whose son Dean impersonates; and George Asprey as the striking, urbane, gay aristocrat who takes Dean under his wing. Heir to the Asprey fortune in real life, he was born for the part.Aside from the fascinating story, imaginative photography done solely with available light, and perfect musical support, AKA is a scathing portrayal of the English class system, where aristocrats rely on certain cues (accent, pronunciation, name, manners, schooling, demeanor) to identify one another and preserve their exclusivity. Dean lives as 'one of them' successfully and happily for over a year. After which he says, quite truthfully (if Mr. Roy's portrait of Alexander Gryffoyn is in any way accurate in its mean-spirited snobbery), that he was a better Lord Gryffoyn than the real one could ever be. Mr. Roy also depicts a working class equally complicit in maintaining 'place' and limited social mobility.After watching the single screen version, the three-screen triptych version, as it was released theatrically, is an interesting complement which adds dimension to the story. Mr. Roy's commentary track is illuminating politically, and enlightening cinematically. His film is a very personal work of art. The entire ensemble is outstanding, but the talent and beauty of Matthew Leitch form the solid core on which the story rests.

Duncan Roy is to commended for such a well done movie, made on what he said was a 'no budget' budget. From an artistic point of view the scenery and location shots are outstanding. He successfully captures the time period of the late 1970's. I was amazed to have learned that the entire movie was shot in five weeks. I can't heap enough praise on the cinematography. Perhaps, the crowning glory of AKA is the soundtrack. The song, "Another Lonely Day" is my absolute favourite, I find myself flipping back to the scene where it appears and replaying it over and over again. AKA needs to release the soundtrack as it is spectacular on its own merit. This brings me to the acting - maybe I am just fond of the level of professionalism of British actors - they did an outstanding job. If you have not rented AKA it is a must rent. It was so good I purchased a copy. I think AKA will soon become a cult standard. This from a fan that just discovered it in the summer of 2005.

This offering was recently presented on Sundance Channel without much fanfare. I had never heard of it before, in fact. The comparison to "Mr. Ripley" is immediately obvious at about thirty minutes in. If I had not subsequently learned more about evidence of an autobiographical source, I would have judged it a poor copy of the Highsmith novel and film.Nevertheless, I rather liked it as a whole. The version I saw was limited not so much by any split-screen device as it was by extremely shoddy editing. Great gaps in both story line and character development occur almost from the start, and I was left floundering from time to time until I could infer this or that bit by slogging onward. Had it not been for a great supporting cast I might have switched it off before other redeeming pieces fell into place.Those better features included an accurate social setting for 1978, some interesting costumes, and one or two experiences of the character played by Matthew Leitch in Paris that approximated some of my own contemporaneous involvements with that city. In other words, I am not able to be completely objective, and will say no more.

I loved this film. I just loved it. I was so amazed by the split screen. I saw it at Sundance and I was blown away. I very rarely cry during a movie but I sat there in the dark and cried. It was so moving and beautiful. Of course it reminded me of other stuff but I just felt that due to the split screen device I left the movie having had a unique experience. I read these other reviews and wondered if we had all seen the same thing. The bad ones are totally inacurate. I urge you to go and see this film and make up your own mind.