Not Me

At just under seven minutes, The short film Not Me, depicts a troubling scenario involving a randy guest and a young hotel room service waiter.

In the post #me-too age the kid showed remarkable presence of mind in recording part of the encounter which all too easily could have devolved into a he said / he said situation.

I'd say that it saddens me that people are becoming less and less civil and trustworthy but the realist in me knows that many people have always been this way. It's just that more people are being caught and that those in power all too often yield to the temptation to use that power over others.

While the short IS powerful, it's NOT terribly deep (and how could it be in less than seven minutes) It does hold one's attention and didn't have me glancing at the video progress bar as so many other shorts... even shorter ones have done.

That said... I was a bit surprised to see the introduction of a "wife" character at the end. It was unnecessary, added nothing to the story, and even made the main premise more unlikely.

A young hotel runner in a very delicate situation. Nice acting, well atmosphere, fair tension. And not more. The actors are the story itself and the drama is reduced at a nice sketch. So, decent. But not so surprising and far to be one of embarrasing situations in a hotel room about the power/ abuse of a client and a vulnerable, too honest runner.

The short film Not Me, in under seven minutes, puts forward an increasingly troubling scenario involving a hotel room service waiter and the guest he's serving.

Very well acted by the two main performers.

We have yet another unworthy short having been nominated for awards and getting special prizes for merit. This really wasn't well acted and despite being based on a true story the conclusion left a sense of emptiness.

So, the bellboy was quick-witted, but not fast enough to earn himself some extra money. His behaviour was completely unprofessional and having regard to what had gone on before, sitting down with the guest could have been construed as a definite come on. What was he thinking? Or was he provoking an incident? I cast no aspersions on the real-life lad the film is based on, but the way this was dramatised doesn't do him any favours.

And then what happened? Was he sacked? The ending was just hurried and left one in the air. If it had been fiction, we could use our imagination, but for a true story, one wants to know. And the introduction of Steve's wife was a step too far. Knowing she was coming back to the room who would have risked what Steve did? I can't believe this happened in real life.

Not recommended at all.