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.

See, indie movies fall under two categories: artsy, preachy, and empty or interesting, cool and fulfilling. Cyberbully is under the second category. See the reason is because this movie actually understands the issue its addressing unlike the other Cyberbullying movie that I can't stand, and not only that but the entire movie is set inside one room, with one actress: Maisie Williams, who gives a fantastic performance! Gripping, interesting, and an overall good film, and best of all shines a good light on its issue. Its a shame Ms Williams is not in more films because she is a great actress, especially here. In this movie, she talks to a computer program for most of it, and its a very impressive performance. So watch it, but you need to be mature to watch it, a boat ton of cursing lies ahead, but also a well written script.

This movie was like Locke and 12 Angry Men in the sense that it was filmed in one location throughout the entirety of the movie. The dialogue and performance was what sustained the brilliance of the chilling plot. The acting by Maisie Williams was very real and it just completely engaged me in the storyline from the first scene. The fact that the hacker's identity is made unclear makes the villain unique and very sinister. What I also like about it is that the location that takes place is very innocent because it takes place in a teenage girls room, however you are still left on edge for every second that goes on. As the story goes on the girls life begins to crumble and spiral into a disaster she cannot escape from. Brilliant, Exciting, Original and thrilling, all I can say is... Watch the movie!!!

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.

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.