At Dawning (2001)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Martin Jones

Writers:

Emma Bernard (additional dialogue)
Martin Jones (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

At Dawning stars Jenny Agutter as a woman escaping from a one night stand, who encounters a suicidal Yvan Attal in bizarre circumstances...

Plot Keywords:

One Night Stand | Suicide Attempt | Baby

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

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

Runtime:

12 min | Germany:10 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:12

Company:

London Production Fund

Very adult but also very funny

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

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.