Smart Alek

This short film starts off being painful to watch, and doesn't get any better. I almost lost attention, turned off by the depiction of a dysfunctional family, yet the imagery and activity made me watch.

I felt terrible empathy for the father as he tried to pack the car, his daughter ignoring him, playing repetitively on a recorder. The grandmother exists as so many elderly folk, in a simplified world. The son, obviously rebelling against.. well, rebelling. And the mother, barely noticeable in the opening half the film.

The film takes us through a holiday nightmare, evoking memories I'd prefer to have left forgotten, hitting home in too many places. Yet never is the ending suspected, or warned. When it happens, disbelief kicks in, I mentally challenged the credulity of the script, trying to deny the actions taking place on-screen. Hating the family, yet hating their fate left me confused, but I was compelled to watch.

What really sealed this film for me was the simple comment at the end. This is a true story. It is based on real people. And it hurt enough when I thought it was just fiction..

This film has left an indelible mark on me, and I have made an effort to re-watch it on more than one occasion. It is both darkly funny - those who know UK telly might consider 'Monkey Dust' or 'Jam' - and horribly bleak in its depiction of human fate, set against the background of 1970s England. Cederic is right to refer to its nightmarish qualities, and for many there will be a character to empathise with, and be frightened by that empathy. There is so much drawn from a simple plot that it is long enough at twenty minutes. The roles are well cast, and features two of Britain's most exciting and interesting comedians - the ever adventurous Simon Munnery (Alan Parker-Urban Warrior, and The League Against Tedium), and Sean Lock, whose subtle but incisive wit is different from the cold rejection of mediocrity he portrays - and co-wrote - here.

I say this film has stayed with me; I took the time to visit Jaywick Sands, and I was rewarded by being able to even more enjoy the comedy of this amazing, and yet for me wholly credible film.

Watch it, and feel your jaw slowly drop...