Jet Trash’ opens on Christmas Eve to the tune of Yuletide classic ‘O Christmas Tree’, but there’s zero festive spirit in this trippy movie about hedonist Brits abroad.
It begins with twentysomethings Lee (Robert Sheehan) and Sol (Osy Ikhile) smoking pot on an idyllic beach in Goa. They look like backpackers on a world tour trying to find themselves. But their Indian paradise is actually a hideout, after an ill-fated dalliance with a sleazy nightclub owner left them with no choice but to go on the run. Goa is irresistible, all National Geographic landscapes and photogenic hedonism.
The plot is a journey through the island’s sensual seascapes and London’s dirty back alleys. ‘Misfits’ star Sheehan is the larkish, just-about-likeable lead, in a role we’ve seen him in before. He’s the reason the pair are caught up with Goan gangsters, ill-gotten wads of cash hidden in mattresses and the accidental death of a sacred cow. ‘Jet Trash’ is not unlikeable, but nothing other than the scenery leaves much of an impression.