Cyberbully

'Cyberbully'is about a teenage girl Casey (played by Maisie Williams) who has her life revolving around social media which later comes back to bite her. The program had a good build up but unfortunately, I was not satisfied at the end as I didn't see the way Maisie's new mindset.

This was a really good show which should be watched by many teenagers and young adults who use social media frequently.

Taking real life situations and stories, the creators of this one episode drama are geniuses in their work, using emotive languages and even pictures to show how shady the world of the internet can truly be. The main characters actor, Masie Williams, is showing off her true ability and proving, as if anyone would doubt, that she can do much more than just Game of Thrones, with an amazing performance were she superbly expresses the guilt that a person in her position would feel.. It instills a light sense of fear and thrill throughout as the danger is always present and intimidating. It achieves it's goal of also teaching the general public on what they shouldn't do online well. Cyberbully uses the interesting technique of staying in only one place the entire duration, this, as many movies before it have shown, can be tricky and risks getting boring if it isn't executed well, which this certainly was., managing to keep my early attention lasting until the very end. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a thought provoking drama.

This movie is a proof that you can make a good film with minimal means - what is important is the right idea, good script, good actress. The audience creates suspense in their heads. This suspense thriller was more interesting than many movies with lots of actors and special effects and fancy sets that I have seen. I think it was because the psychological suspense and protagonists duel with unknown antagonist was so well created. And Maisie Williams did a very good job carrying the movie all by herself. I remember there was once a film with similar idea, phone booth, with Colin Farrell in the main role - but I liked this film much more. And the film had some good messages too.

This short drama was promoted mainly off the attraction of Maisie Williams (she of Game of Thrones fame) and it was the reason I came to it. I wasn't sure quite what the plot was, beyond the title laying out the subject area, and it was a nice surprise to find that it was several things, and because of this, they all worked pretty well. On the face of it we have a drama where two characters communicate across a computer – one of whom we do not see, the other being the main character Casey. This starts slowly, and at first I was struggling with watching characters type to one another, but it got better once the text became voice chat, and the plot started to unfold.

Although it has issues that are not really resolved and did bug me a little, mostly the plot works. The elements where I felt I was just being asked to "go with it" were not always perfect, but it is the movement of the viewer within the plot that makes it engaging. Our sympathies change around slightly through the hour – not really twists and turns as such, but it does move well. This working allows the drama to do something else – which is to be a social message too, but to be one in a way that works and doesn't have people turning off because they feel like they are being preached at. It is a fine line at times, but mostly it manages to stay on the right side of it to produce a topical drama which stands as a cautionary tale that makes one thing about the issues.

The drama keeps it from being too heavy handed, and shifting the viewer round encourages thought – not only of the drama, but of the subjects, which in turn then helps the social message aspect hit home more effectively. I am old enough not to have had to deal with the internet while at school, but I do feel for those who are born into that because it is so easy to have anonymous people tear at you for the sake of it; people like to label others trolls, but as with this drama, often just the culture of cruel comments and sarcasm from "regular" people is just as damaging.

The cast is limited to a handful of people, with Williams being the only person really in it for longer than a few scenes – indeed I don't think she is ever really off the screen since the whole film is in real time and plays out entirely in her bedroom. She is excellent; delivering a lot with her face and really getting into her character – it is not easy to hold the film up in this way, particularly when you are alone and acting at a computer screen, but she does it very well and contributes to making the plot work by virtue of her character. Of the others it is worth mentioning Haruka Abe. Although she only has a few scenes in videos online, she convinces at being cheerful and likable, while also being naïve, but more importantly she sells the change in her pretty well without over playing it; it is a small role but an important one and she does it well.

Cyberbully isn't perfect as a drama, but it works better than I expected and moves the viewer around nicely as well as being reasonably gripping. The social aspect benefits from this, as it delivers a thoughtful cautionary tale and advice, but avoids being preachy or alienating – which is a difficult thing to do, so kudos to it for that.

A low budget film but very well executed. I am not of the virtual generation but whether or not this film is accurate ( and the degree of hacking seems unlikely ) it is a well illustrated fable of our modern age dealing with an issue that is becoming more prevalent. It is very difficult for all of us to understand that what we do online is a real and that we should be prepared to take responsibility for what we do. Our online activities maybe pursued in the virtual world but the consequences of those actions will be played out in real time, by real people with real results. Perhaps it is time to stop calling it "cyberspace" or " virtual reality" as it seems to be the place that many people spend a lot of time in. The film has the feel of a stage play, written by some-one who wants to bring an issue to life. And I think they have succeeded, well done to all involved.