The Girl in the Dress

It is obvious from the very beginning that The Girl in the Dress is not going to be an ordinary tale of a wedding ceremony, which is what makes this hilarious short film so brilliantly clever. From the first moment the audience are introduced to Emily, to the moment when Henry VII begins to give a 'bride-to-be' advice, this film constantly supplies us with surprise after surprise.

Emily is not a normal everyday kind of character, instead she is over-dramatic and wild, and in turn provides all of the humour that this short film revolves around. The very first few glimpses of Emily present the audience with the suspicion that she might not be telling the truth. After being tricked into feeling sorry for her, the audience are then informed that Emily has driven herself mad over the obsession of the promise of love; she talks to herself as she sits down on the bench, she makes little eye contact and she rambles on, hardly leaving time for Rob to say anything at all. All of these factors build up to make Emily the perfect protagonist for this film.

Irony plays a huge part in creating comedy within this film. The High Heels, often a sign of sophistication, but not in Emily's case as she behaves in a childish manner. Then there is the contrast between Emily and Rob. Rob is an actor, often the stereotype is that actors are over dramatic; yet again this is proved wrong when Emily becomes the one who takes things to the extreme.

While comedy is prevalent in this short film there is a sweet underlying message towards the end; while we may not get exactly what we plan to get in life, we will get what we need, and this is why The Girl in the Dress is a perfect representation, maybe not quite so realistic, of life itself.

The Girl in the Dress is a quintessentially, performance-led, British romantic comedy, that has its roots and identity firmly planted within the history of British comedy films. The film's strength lies in its absurdly farcical yet subtle, and at times sensitive, script. The casting is a masterstroke, with a star-studded line up headed by the irrational, frantic and relatable Emily (Olivia Poulet) and the bewildered and charming living statue, Rob (Nick Helm). A strikingly quirky and original story, written and directed by Natalie Malla, the film centres itself around the curious and comical things we do for love and the unlikely relationships we can make along the way.

The film opens with a lovely sequence of gradual and obstructed close-up shots of what appear to be a 'cold-footed bride' having second thoughts, establishing from the outset what the titular dress is, apparently, alluding to. Indeed, the cinematography plays a moderately, and importantly, backseat role in the film. It is only the opening fast paced cuts of an apparent escaped bride and a brilliantly executed cat-and-mouse sequence of Emily scurrying between the pews of a church, that is the only real and noticeable departure from a practical and no-frills approach to filming. The importance of this, along with the use of a recognisable locale, is fundamental in the construction of a believable and palatable platform for the perfectly crafted script and the amusing, performance-led narrative to take place, and indeed excel.

At many points the music sets the pace and dictates the tone of the film, however, it is the captivating performances by Olivia Poulet and Nick Helm, executing Malla's lively script, that is the real driving force behind the film. Helm's first line sets the comedic tone and intent up immediately, as he awkwardly, and in a very British manner, politely asks Emily to move her despair and crying onto a different bench. Poulet as the lead shines as she strikes the perfect balance between distressed, blissfully unhinged and regretful, whilst keeping it light and ludicrous. Malla's conception of the contrasting leads is a real gem. The idea that the neurotic and frenzied Emily on a day of despair comes into contact with the controlled, literally static and emotionally rational Rob, is one of many instances of skilled and comedic writing throughout the film.

The Girl in the Dress does exactly what you want from a British romantic comedy film. It contains a concise and well worked premise encompassed in brilliantly crafted script, that has a hilarious and relatable performance-led narrative and all done with flowing and assisting cinematography. This beautifully quirky film ultimately leaves you wanting more.

The tone of this film was set from the onset as we see Emily's head bobbing comically up and down the far side of a hedgerow underscored by an equally comedy soundtrack. A word that springs to mind when watching this film is 'kookie' and while that word usually concerns me this film manages to play to everything that is good about that word. This is largely due to a beautifully written script by Natalie Malla and performances from the leads that are both nuanced and genuine. Malla also directly this film which maintains all these qualities throughout, it never sags and every moment is beautifully pitched. Yes, it is a slightly ridiculous set-up, but not for one second was it anything other than completely believable.

This is a colourful, charming, at times melodramatic comedy in the vain of classic quintessentially British rom-coms. The lead character reminds me of a British version of Carrie Bradshaw struggling to maintain a sense of what is appropriate in the aftermath of a break-up. It reminds us all of the inappropriate things we might have done in the name of love.

For me the most effective short films just take a small moment in time and elevate them, and this is such a good example of that. Two unlikely characters who meet, have a genuine connection and impact each other's lives. I for one was completely won over by them both.

At times some of the music does feel a little overly synthesised, especially when it seeks to replicate orchestral sounds. This ever so slightly jarred with the musician in me, but on the whole the music is very effective and the song over the end credits enhances the feel-good feeling you are left with as the film draws to a close.

The film features some incredibly high-quality production values both in terms of direction, cinematography, sound and performance. The atmosphere of the park in summer is so authentic. It really gives a sense that you are there in the park with the lead characters, observing what's going on. The film comes together to make for a very entertaining 14 minute short that I would highly recommend watching. It's rare that I would comment on the title cards of a film but these were so slick and pleasing on the eye that they deserve a mention.

This was simply incredible. The writing, the pacing, the acting - i can find very little to fault in this production. It not only wholly fulfils its description of comedy, the main character goes through an incredible emotional journey in such a short amount of time and you sincrely feel invested in her.

Rob. What a man. Watching from the persepcticve of an aspiring actor, Nick Helm did an incredible job of being the quirky bystander and fulfills the role incredibly without subtracting from the main character. With this smaller cast the relationships can be highlighted and grown exponentially even through the 15 minute production; I can also safely say I love how the realtionship between what was two strangers grows and amplifies the piece without feeling tacky while still feeding into the comedy.

I would like to make further comment on the pacing as it was, at its core the driving force for the production and my love for it, the writing clearlly gave scope for the actors to have some measure of freedom - this paired with the quick cuts and consistent performance made this 15 minute production fly by so much so that I watched it twice just for the sake of it.

I would sincerely recommend any and all to watch this, as i believe the comedic timing and emotional journey are so expressly relatable that anybody could find humour and interest in this production.