My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117

This is an ingeniously quirky short film. It may be slightly too strange for some viewers - the story and technique (in particular the sound) are barmy - but it cleverly succeeds in arresting the viewer's attention in its short space of time. The film creates a bizarre metaverse experienced from the point of view of Paddy Considine's lead character in which animals talk and think in more logical terms than their human counterparts. Obviously, we believe Paddy is slightly mad, leading to various scenes in which he comically finds it increasingly difficult to relate to the social etiquette he is expected to conform to.

Morris's directorial style makes it hard at times to laugh out loud - he refuses to allow his audience to dwell on "the funny bits" - but think about what you've seen and you'll probably wet yourself. This makes repeat viewings very rewarding, especially with such a sly, wink-wink denouement.

I've never really been a big fan of 'shorts' (the films, not the clothes) so it was always going to take an artist whom I really respect to convince me to actually buy one, and - as you've probably guessed - Chris Morris is such an artist. Possibly the most interesting comic around, if you take into account his media-shy persona and the controversy that surrounded the Brass Eye special a while back, this film marks his debut on this medium, and is a corker.

Revolving around a depressed man who (probably, but nothing is certain here) has gone insane due to self-loathing, and his relationship with the dog who lives in the house that he is looking after, the film inspires equal parts of horror, dismay, and hilarity. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this, and if I have, I've never found it this entertaining. Really highly recommended for anybody who is interested in art which pushes at the boundries of medium, form, and genre.

This is the debut film from satirist, surrealist comedian and cult phenomenon Chris Morris, whose fans have levelled criticism at the project as it is a reinterpretation of a story already featured in his dark, late-night sketch show 'Blue Jam'.

As a Morris fan myself, I was somewhat sceptical about the need for a retelling of this tale - a blackly comic piece about a man who is so depressed that he believes his dog is talking to him, and providing some frankly terrible advice.

So I'm happy to report that the film is indeed successful, at least for the most part, and this is largely due to Morris's skill as a filmmaker. The tone is stylish and experimental, and manages to breath new life into the story - Morris has clearly built upon what he started in his last TV series, 'Jam'. And as well as directing the film, Morris has also written the electro-ambient soundtrack, which interplays cleverly with the camerawork to create some neat moments.

However, some of the gags don't translate to the screen particularly well - and this is largely because cinema isn't the best medium to convey the protagonist's reasoning behind his erratic behaviour - described so effectively in the radio version. Therefore, if you plan to watch this film, I'd highly recommend listening to the original Blue Jam monologue on which it is based (included on the DVD now available), which provides some of the detail and il(logic) behind the character's actions.

Maybe next time then, a new story tailor-made for the screen would be more satisfying, but this is still an accomplished debut.

9/10

I suppose some of the other reviewers here may think I am a really sick person, but I thought this was hilarious! Prior to this viewing, I had never heard of Chris Morris, probably because I live on the other side of the Pond, but I will seek out more.

I won't recap the content because others have already done so on this forum. My reactions to this material are quite different from others' reactions, however, and I encourage the reader to take a chance and see what their own reactions will be.

As a clinical social worker who has worked extensively with the chronic mentally ill, I was not offended by the portrayal of an obviously deranged person. Persons experiencing psychotic episodes involving command hallucinations, whether aural or visual, are human, and the content and logic of their experience, while bizarre, is recognizably human. You may recall something you once believed and later found to be false or inaccurate in some way. To the extent that this belief influenced your decisions at that time, you were sharing the same mechanism that causes a psychotic person to believe a dog is speaking to them or the television is blinking in some mysterious way that may or may not be revealing something important. The difference is in degree and, possibly, in the lack or over-abundance of certain brain chemicals.

I give this a 9/10.

the other comment was done by a complete fool. this short film by Chris Morris, originally from a sketch in his radio series Blue Jam is piece of highly interesting work to those who "get it". Many won't, which is frankly their problem, or more accurately their lack of imagination or intelligence. The film is not really about anything, it is more of modern surrealist painting in movie format. It's an enquiry into the nature of insanity and all relating things. In a way, it shouldn't be treated like you would treat other films, at least from a critical standpoint. You just have to ask yourself how it affected to you. What thoughts it conjured up. You can't compare it to anything or use conventional techniques for review such as the plot, dialogue etc. It simply has nothing in common with those things. If you're willing to open your mind and you have a vivid imagination then this short film will almost certainly be for you. If you think everything has a message, purpose, rightful meaning then you may as well just go to bed and not bother waking up.