Love Child (1995)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Patrick Sisam

Writer:

Patrick Sisam (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Nine year old Murray Murray is discovering his sexuality in the era of disco and leisure suits. He has a crush on sixteen year old Deidre...

Plot Keywords:

Sexuality | Dominant Woman | Growing Up | Teenager | Love

Cast

Dov Tiefenbach	...	Murray Murray
Neve Campbell	...	Deidre
Cecilley Carroll	...	Nancy
Julian Richings	...	Tom Sr.
Paulina Gillis	...	Jane
Rob Stefaniuk	...	Tom Jr.
Helene Clarkson	...	Marie
Robert Eaton	...	Jean
Emma Cane	...	Girl gang
Catherine Lloyd	...	Girl gang
Adrienne Mannone	...	Girl gang
Jenna Mannone	...	Girl gang
Stephanie Mannone	...	Girl gang
Amy Sisam	...	Girl gang
Asta Torokvei	...	Girl gang

Runtime:

23 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Company:

Wig Pictures

Soundtrack:

Hoola-Waltz

An odd and fantastic short

`Love Child' was on one night as I was flipping through the channels late in the night (or extremely early in the day), but somehow I couldn't find myself changing the channel. It said it was a ‘series / comedy,' but in reality it was only a one-time short film by the director / writer Patrick Sisam.

I think the first thing that drew me to the movie was the fact that the lead character, Murray Murray, reminds me (mostly because of his name, but there may be something more to it) of Humbert Humbert from Vladimir Nabokov's novel `Lolita.' Murray Murray is a 9 year-old who has a crush on an older sister of a girl who likes him. The girl who likes him is typically (whether veracious or not, that's usually how it's portrayed in life – and supposedly people have had real experiences with this) pugnacious and likes to pick on him.

I missed the very beginning of the short, but it seems that Murray hears his parents, who seem to be swingers, having sex all the time. He has reoccurring dreams about them in different situations, and when he and his brother are at the movies (which is a pseudo, black and white love story), he pictures his parents as the lovers and runs out of the theater. His father always has the inclination to call him ‘sport' also, and the fact that he actually looks like the kind of eerie non-father that would say that in the odd way that he does, makes it even weirder.

Another odd thing, which made me check the IMDB right after the movie was over, was what year this was filmed and why Neve Campbell was in it. The year it was made was 1995, and a year later Neve was in `Scream.' She looks awesome in `Love Child,' which makes me think that was the last part of her innocence in movies. Unfortunately she changed her hairstyle and has gotten older, but the way she smiles and what she wears is stunning. I obviously never found out why she was in it, though…

The balance of a child longing for an older sister (of a girl his age who likes him), mixed with the odd images and anomalous scenes with the parents, makes this something special. Maybe Murray Murray knows he must get back his innocence or he'll never be able to overcome his fears of turning into his parents or later being warped by his childhood experiences. Maybe he's not affected at all, but the realistic mix of both aspects is fantastically done at any rate.

The music is also really good. The setting takes place in the 70s, and the music is funky and embodies the feelings of the movie quite well.

Overall, this was a fantastic short. The acting was great, the visuals and camera angles were good; it just had everything a good short or short story would have. And that's the other thing; it would have made a great short story too. The fact that the visuals didn't have to be there, but were there nonetheless, also adds something special.

I liked `Love Child' as soon as I started watching it, and I found myself wondering about a lot of events in the short after it was over. It's only about 30 minutes, which gives the skeptic even more reason to watch it. Hopefully, if you ever see this, you'll enjoy as much as I did.