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Reviews
Hawk (2011)
Bigger and more epic than the sum of its parts.
This short stands out amongst Capture's short films as a more ambitious cinematic endeavour, which leaves the real world far behind.
Hawk succeeds in seeming to be much higher in production value than it probably is - clever use of drone shots and VFX to create a hawk's eye view of the craggy landscape give the film an epic scale from start to finish. Indeed the way DoP Martin Hill shoots the landscape is shot is a key strength of the film. It is packed with static shots that frame the cliffs and sky very nicely - and the use of the sky different times of day (including some beautiful magic-hour twilight scenes) keeps the lighting varied and interesting.
Production Design is also another element that adds value to and richness to the world of Hawk. The shelters, tea boiling bags, drinking horns, leathered and feathered costumes. These work especially well because Rowan and his father would have had to make these by hand which Production Designer Emma Lo Gatto and her team probably did. All of this brings texture and detail to this story and grounds the characters within it by showing us the instruments and tools with which they live day-to-day
The story itself is a real journey - from coming of age survival lessons and camp-fire stories with Rowan's kindly, wizened father, to psilocybin-induced nightmarish visions of Celtic demon-gods, and finally to a poignant moment of self-sacrifice. Despite the relatively small cast, the narrative spans many years and many worlds. What's particularly good is that the story is given space to breathe, and the dialogue does not shoulder the entire burden of exposition - meaning we have to fill in the gaps ourselves.
All of these elements combine to make Hawk more than the sum of its parts - a short film that feels more expensive and epic, and has the legs to be adapted into a feature.
Killing Thyme (2015)
Very polished short with bittersweet humour, great cast and a clever story.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Killing Thyme takes a very heavy core question - is it ever okay to kill? - and packages it in a light and charming short. Art has been asking if murder can be justified for hundreds of years - it's the essential issue of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Just like that novel, 'No' is the answer that Killing Thyme arrives at, but rather than beating you over the head with hundreds of pages of moral teachings, it takes a look at the question through the eyes of a naïve and well-meaning little boy. This turns out to be a new and entertaining perspective on the issue.
The allotment space is a bright oasis of green fertility in the middle of the concrete jungle, framed by sky-scrapers and train-lines. It feels like somewhere special and secluded where unusual things might happen - and indeed they do. This stubborn green force of vitality and growth amongst the dead grey glass and concrete comes to represent a more eternal struggle between life and death, hope and despair - all of the opposites that Sam and Norman stand for. When Sam finally convinces Norman to start nurturing his plants again, it's more than just gardening. Sam has convinced Norman that life is worth living and that is it worth bringing more life into this world.
Child actors are infamously hard to find, let alone direct - with this in mind, Joe Reynold's convincing performance as a persistent gardening geek is impressive. Brain Cox is tailor-made for the role of depressed curmudgeon, and the script perhaps doesn't allow him to show off great range because even his warmer moments are offered begrudgingly. Charlotte Riley's performance as NHS employed single-mum is brilliant and very natural. Her affection for and patience with Sam is conveyed with remarkable brevity because - like all single mums in films - she constantly has to rush off to work. However the fact that she knows about Sam's visits to the allotment, and her bigger role in the final minutes of the film, reveal how much of a concerned and dedicated mother she is.
Killing Thyme fulfils the purpose of any quality dark comedy - it takes bitter truths and makes them more palatable by adding comedic sugar. The happy ending of the film is undeniably sweet, but it is restrained enough that it doesn't get sickly sweet - Norman and Sam's future friendship is only hinted at.
Gin & Dry (2010)
Gin & Dry - unexpectedly fun and then unexpectedly deep.
*SPOILER ALERT*
The film attempts to pluck at your heartstrings right from the get-go. The scene is set using the tried and tested method of super close-ups of ice cubes tinkling in whiskey glasses, slow jazz starting up on a record player, teal and orange colour grading and twinkling orbs of soft golden bokeh. The opening lines of dialogue between Albie and Dee failed to make much of an impression on me, they seemed a little soppy and expositional. But when these same lines of dialogue are repeated, at the end of the film, the new context makes them very powerful and touching.
The care-home setting is great because at a meeting we are introduced to half a dozen zany and increasingly senile characters who quickly form a pack mentality and seem ready to mutiny against their kill-joy carer. The production design for this meeting scene is especially nice and shows great attention to detail - the Christmas decorations are sparse enough to somehow be a little bit sad, and the ugly patterns on the wall-paper and backs of chairs really create the texture of an old-people's home. The colouring has been used well throughout to enhance the pastel palette that the design team use.
The corridor chase sequence degenerates brilliantly into slapstick chaos. The burst of youthful vigour and energy the guys get when chasing a drink is hilarious, and the wheel POV shots of the wheelchair mimic the way action directors shoot super-cars in films like Fast and Furious.
The cinematography really stands out in certain places. The scene where the gang of thirsty old men raid the stash cupboard, and find nothing but boring old board games, uses central framing and deep focus on wide lenses almost in the style of Wes Anderson or some Kubrick shots.
After the fun and games of this chase the script delivers a very balanced and sensitive speech through Albie, who lectures the hog-tied caretaker on sympathising with the foibles of old people. It might normally be a little heavy-handed to have the message of the film explicitly stated. In Gin &
Dry it works because we are caught off guard after the farcical hi-jinks, but also because David de Keyser's wrinkled face in wonderfully expressive and he has a kindly twinkle in his eye which makes us want to listen to him.
The final camera move is very effective, it pulls us into Albie's head and simulates the simultaneously sad and comforting feeling that a deceased loved one might be right beside us. The opening lines of dialogue are repeated and this time we understand that Albie and Dee have had this conversation thousands of times, perhaps because of the onset of dementia or Alzheimer's, and that now Dee is gone Albie will keep having this conversation as a way of keeping her with him. The dialogue I initially turned my nose up at now has me thinking and feeling, which means the film has managed to break through my cynicism. Now that's a real feat.
The Girl in the Dress (2015)
Four Weddings, Bridget Jones and Love Actually all compressed into 15 minutes.
*SPOILER ALERT*
Capture's 'The Girl in the Dress' ticks all the boxes for a rom com - it features lots of dramatic irony, a last-minute wedding day mix-up, and a healthy dose of absurd social awkwardness. It is certainly a direct descendent of the films of Richard Curtis (Four Weddings, Bridget Jones, Notting Hill etc.) but it brings enough of it's own quirkiness to stand on its own.
A lot of the film's strength comes from its wholesome, pleasant vibe, as with many good comedies. This is due to the surprising likeability of characters. There's something undeniably funny about the fact that it's Rob, a street entertainer who spends his days frozen still as a statue, who turns out to be the most emotionally intelligent, warm and sensitive character in the film. He takes it upon himself to counsel Emily - preaching a simple, optimistic idea of having faith in love.
The way we see Emily's plight also makes us sympathise with a character who isn't objectively likeable. Emily intends to crash a wedding and ruin everyone's happiness because she can't let go of a childish fantasy. The oversized ribbons on her hairpiece and dress make her look like a little girl playing dress-up. Olivia Poulet's performance is filled with nervous energy and neurotic twitches - these are all tell-tale signs. But when the narrative starts we don't have all the information and assume, along with Rob, that today is Emily's big wedding day. And she believes it is.
The first half of the film centres on this climax of irony. Rob, attempting to be a good guy, gives out horribly misinformed advice and propels the story towards disaster.
The camera work is largely static in the first half, and the focus is on the dialogue between Rob and Emily. Olivia Poulet and Nick Helm make their lines sound very natural whilst also delivering snappy, absurd punchlines - which is a real feat of screenwriting. The 'laughter circle' exercise moment is particularly effective - I found myself laughing, sort of joining in on the exercise.
The second half centres on a set-piece which brings dynamic excitement and production value to the film. The first half could even stand alone as a micro-budget short film. However now DoP Vanessa Whyte switches to a Steadicam with wider lenses which allow her to float among the pews of an old church and follow Emily on a brilliant cat-and-mouse chase which provides lots of movement and tension. The use of the Church pulpit to frame Olivia's face and show the crowd of guests in the background, unaware of the double-meaning of Mary's speech, is the height of dramatic irony.
All-in-all this film took a genre that I don't usually enjoy and made it very charming and wholesome. The script is intelligent and utilises irony effectively. The ending is smooth and happy - Emily comes to her senses (in the nick of time), Mary turns out to be a good, if forceful friend, and Rob is once again given the opportunity to be the good guy. Let's hope he doesn't mess it up this time.