Review of 'Michael' which can be found here on Daily Motion.
Length: 07:41
Logline: A young lad asks his mum if he can go on a school trip but she can't afford it.
This short is designed to bring a tear to a glass eye and it very well might. It starts off as a bit of a slow burner but that leaves the audience plenty of time to start building up preconceptions about where the plot is headed (especially with Michael's mum, payed by Fleur Poad, immediately looks pissed off that there's a bit of paper on the table).
This should probably have been titles 'Mike' since that's what everyone seems to call him. Newcomer Kelan Todd plays the lead role well. He's likeable, deals with the occasionally staged dialogue well and delivers a cute doleful look when necessary. Ignore the posh way everyone seems to speak and there is a nice naturalistic tone to both dialogue and plot. Pacing flounders slightly during the searching for cash in cupboards scene but on the whole scenes flow together well and this feels shorter than its actual length.
This has all round high production values. Excellent camera quality, movement and shot composition give a professional feel. The apt piano soundtrack only comes into play during the emotional last sequence and this helps to increase the impact well. That last scene is the one that makes this short good. Realistically it's an all to common domestic drama, not really anything you've never seen before but the emotional punch this throws at the end is enough to forgive all of that.
This short is designed to bring a tear to a glass eye and it very well might. It starts off as a bit of a slow burner but that leaves the audience plenty of time to start building up preconceptions about where the plot is headed (especially with Michael's mum, payed by Fleur Poad, immediately looks pissed off that there's a bit of paper on the table).
This should probably have been titles 'Mike' since that's what everyone seems to call him. Newcomer Kelan Todd plays the lead role well. He's likeable, deals with the occasionally staged dialogue well and delivers a cute doleful look when necessary. Ignore the posh way everyone seems to speak and there is a nice naturalistic tone to both dialogue and plot. Pacing flounders slightly during the searching for cash in cupboards scene but on the whole scenes flow together well and this feels shorter than its actual length.
This has all round high production values. Excellent camera quality, movement and shot composition give a professional feel. The apt piano soundtrack only comes into play during the emotional last sequence and this helps to increase the impact well. That last scene is the one that makes this short good. Realistically it's an all to common domestic drama, not really anything you've never seen before but the emotional punch this throws at the end is enough to forgive all of that.
Best Bit: Emotional climax.
Worst Bit: Actors speak to posh to be convincing bread line characters.
Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.
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