Call Register
This is the perfect film for anyone who has issues about what mobile telephones
have done to our lives. Martin Freeman’s Kevin borrows his best mate’s phone to
make a call, James Lance’s Julian, as he wants to set up a date with a girl
he’s just met, Neve McIntosh’s Amanda. But Julian’s phone recognises the number
and through an series of short phone calls, writer and director Ed Roe details
much of the awkwardness around dating, especially when a friend has already
been there first, and also adroitly explores the uniquely modern perils that
mobiles have brought to the way in which we communicate. There’s much to enjoy
here, not least the understated charm of all three actors, and also much that
will be painfully familiar to anyone who’s ever called someone up for a date.
Stealing Up
Does Maxine Peake ever disappoint? It doesn’t appear to be so and in Stealing
Up, with her hair beautifully pixie cropped, she delivers another of her
evocatively heart-rending performances as a daughter returning home to visit
her mother. It is a difficult visit though because something is clearly up with
the older woman and though it is a short short film, it is sensitively,
heart-breakingly delivered like the throb of an exquisite kind of pain. Sharp
and beautiful, over too soon.
Energy Saver
When a newsreader declares that climate change could mean the end of the human
race, Steve decides to radically change the way he lives his life in Gerard
Monaco’s comedic short film Energy Saver. Elliot Levey is hilarious as Steve,
who finds himself questioning every decision, every choice to see how it
impacts on the environment – starting at shutting down his computer properly
for once to using sand to clean his body instead of wasting water. It’s funny,
especially with the voiceover technique, but it is also underscored with a
serious side which makes it engaging as well as entertaining.
Cheese Makes You Dream
Cheese may makes you dream but Kara Miller’s film is more likely to give you
nightmares. A brief snip at just under six minutes, Tamsin Greig’s Charlotte
turns up on Dudley Sutton’s ageing Jim’s doorstep with a too-good-to-be-true
deal to offer to maximise his pension. But it’s not quite as clean-cut as all
that and Miller takes the film into a much darker place that is highly
effective for its brevity and chilling enigma.
Mancrush
A thing of delightful silliness which although coming close to outstaying its
welcome, is worth a shot. Matt JL Wheeler’s script sees two blokes, Oliver
Chris’ Paul and Blake Harrison’s Will, trying to outdo each other over a cup of
coffee in terms of who is better friends with their mutual mate Dave. And
that’s it. They bicker, they boast, they pretend-fight with pineapples and both
get their heart broken – director Tony Hagger keeps things lively so that the
repetitiveness doesn’t get too wearing but it is hard not to think it could
still do the same job more effectively with four minutes or so shaved off.
Unrequited Love
There’s not too much I can say about Jade Syed-Bokhari’s Unrequited Love that won’t give it away and given it comes in at just under 3 minutes and stars Max Irons, you might as well give it a shot, not least for its effective final message.
Behind The Door
Ooh, what an absolute cracker this is. Written and directed by Des Hamilton, Behind The Door is a superb piece of film, toying with our expectation and understanding about what is happening to eventually hit with a sledgehammer blow as the threads of the story come together in its final moments with stunning clarity. Rafe Spall is extraordinary as games teacher Bobby, who is nurturing a huge secret and near-wordlessly conveys the anguish and trauma that is eating him up inside. Kate Ashfield provides sterling support as partner Joss, struggling to reach past his barriers, but I can’t recommend this highly enough, genuinely excellent.
Labels: Blake Harrison, Elliot Levey, Film, Gerard Monaco, James Lance, Martin Freeman, Max Irons, Maxine Peake, Neve McIntosh, Oliver Chris, Rafe Spall, Tamsin Greig, Thusitha Jayasundera