At Dawning (2002)

At Dawning stars Jenny Agutter as a woman escaping from a one night stand, who encounters a suicidal Yvan Attal in bizarre circumstances. A story of ethical debate and screwball action, ... See full summary »

Director:

Martin Jones

Writers:

Emma Bernard (additional dialogue), Martin Jones

Stars:

Jenny Agutter, Yvan Attal, Christine Entwisle

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Jenny Agutter	...	Escaping woman
Yvan Attal	...	Falling man
Christine Entwisle	...	Weeping woman (as Christine Entwistle)
David Buonoguidi	...	Sleeping man (as Dave Buonoguidi)
Alice Murray	...	Baby

Storyline

At Dawning stars Jenny Agutter as a woman escaping from a one night stand, who encounters a suicidal Yvan Attal in bizarre circumstances. A story of ethical debate and screwball action, which reaches a topsy-turvy climax as dawn breaks over London.

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Plot Keywords:

one night stand | suicide attempt | baby

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ximeroma

Company Credits

Production Co:

London Production Fund, TTO Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

12 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Very adult but also very funny

This short was one of a collection entitled "Shorts: Volume 4". The prior collections have all been terrific and are highly recommended for people who love the genre.

Of all the shorts in this compilation, this one is among the most adult. While it doesn't show any nudity and the language isn't bad, the film is about one-night stands and suicide--not a topic you need younger viewers to see.

The film begins with a lady awakening from a one-night stand and trying to quietly get dressed and sneak back home. However, as she's dressing, a guy come crashing past the window and gets stuck in a tree. It seems they are several floors up and he'd tried to kill himself but just got stuck instead! The lady tries to help him at first, but he'll have nothing to do with it. Then, oddly, they begin to talk about a lot of irrelevant things instead of trying to rescue him or contact the police.

It seems that his significant other has cheated on him and in response, he's trying to die. However, there is a baby alone in his apartment and the lady climbs up to take care of the child. Once there, he hears the man's wife (or girlfriend) calling to him trying to apologize. So, it's up to the lady to straighten things up and then immediately get home.

While this all may not sound very funny, the dialog is great and everything works well. There are plenty of things I didn't mention, as I don't want to spoil the film. Regardless, the acting, writing and direction are simply lovely and it's nice to see an older Jenny Agutter in film---I haven't seen her in at least a decade or more and she looks simply smashing.