A Reckoning

The main and the only character of this murky psychological drama is the last man on earth. He tries to imitate the normal life – he makes straw people and lives among them and he even teaches some straw children at school – he reads them books and punishes the bad pupils for their misbehaviour. But loneliness and silence are slowly driving him mad so any day may become a day of retribution. However the film begins with the epigraph by Edgar Allan Poe: "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream" so it is impossible to tell if we are shown a post-apocalyptic landscapes or everything that happens is just happening in the head of a madman.

Leslie Simpson is fantastic in this feature, the combination of Andrew Barker's direction and Mr Simpson's total understanding of the script was truly an education on set; yes it could be said that I'm ramping the production but I would argue that fact and ask you to form your own opinion when you see the film.

Suffering was part and parcel for all on the sets cast and crew alike from freezing wintry conditions to the muscle cramping conditions of the North sea in February, by far Leslie suffered the most having to condition his body for the film, ultimately this left Leslie in a vulnerable condition, losing calories and body heat very quickly; so on the menu were jokes, chocolate and hot drinks heading the list. Thinking back with what we all endured I can't think of a better time on a production, with winter around us and little heating everyone had things to do even if they were minuscule jobs the aim was to stay busy keeping the fingers and toes radiating heat in their boots and gloves. I feel honoured to have been involved and totally overwhelmed by the end result.

Michael Spiby.