Wasp

The winner for best short film at the 2005 Oscars,this well-made,gritty and honest film seems to me to have a very ambivalent attitude towards it's main character Zoe(convincingly played by Nathalie Press).

A single mother living on a grim council estate,she's prepared to scrap with a woman who attacked her kids by going to her house dressed merely in a nightie,then uses the most foul,gutter language in front of them(all pre-teen).Capable of behaving like an sweet angel one minute,and a gross harridan the next,she attempts to have some fun with a sympathetic suitor(Danny Dyer),but with no partner or babysitter in sight this is doomed to failure,with dire consequences for her children,left outside a pub.

The film charts the difficulties that such women face(or perhaps bring on themselves),and the subject of social services is frequently brought up.But is there a happy ending in store with the would-be suitor? The film will probably have different interpretations by Social Libreals and Right-Wing Fundamental Moralists because of this ambivalence.Despite it's undoubted quality,Laurel & Hardy's THE MUSIC BOX(1932),is still the best short ever awarded the Oscar for me!

The development of lightweight portable 16mm camera equipment about 1960 made possible a new style of documentary film called "Direct Cinema". Instead of the traditional scripted (obviously fictionalized) method, in this new style the filmmakers do not involve themselves in the action. The camera being all seeing and unobtrusive-if the camera is not actually hidden the subjects become so used to it that they ignore its presence.

What makes "Wasp" so unique is its almost seamless fusion of the two documentary styles. Writer/director Andrea Arnold scripts a fictional story intended to look so authentic that it can pass as direct cinema.

This is done so effectively that not only is a casual viewer unable to tell whether it is fact or fact-based fiction, but in most cases actually assumes the story is authentic and the characters real. The acting (particularly by the children) is so well directed and edited that you feel certain that these are real people.

There is a bit of a false note in that the actress (Natahlie Press) who plays the mother is a bit too attractive; although they try to detune her appearance this factor still raises early suspicions . The only other false note is that at no time does anyone look directly into the camera, something inevitable when working with non-actors. But even this is not an infallible indicator because it would have been possible though careful editing to effectively trim out these behaviors.

The appearance of the wasp (a metaphor for the risks of growing up in this type of environment) is surreal enough to tip off the viewer to the true nature of the film, but it occurs so late in the production that it does not spoil much of a viewer's roller-coaster experience.

The 23-minute "Wasp" is a project of The UK Film Council's decision to select and fund the making of new short films by talented, but as yet unknown directors. Apparently the project is very open with few rules and structure, each director is given $50,000 by the project.

"Wasp" was shot on a council estate (a public housing project) and is intended to be a realistic but fictional glimpse into one day in the life of a fairly "typical" unmarried mother (insert British white trash here). In these public high-rises the adult occupants dream about the lives of David and Victoria Beckham and the children aspire to trips to McDonalds (especially attractive when their kitchen only contains moldy bread and white sugar).

Because Zoe (Press) fears her four young children will be taken from her, she drags them along to a pub where she is meeting a potential new boyfriend. They are not permitted in the pub and must stay outside with the baby. While she plays pool and gets romanced the children wait outside, bored and hungry. They manage to invent a few games to amuse themselves. The oldest daughter, who looks to be about eight, is already more mature than the mother and resourcefully scrounges for food.

Although a bit heavy-handed in making its points, the film nicely avoids a preachy tone. I found it absolutely riveting and its Oscar well deserved.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Zoë is a young mother of four small children. She's really down on her luck. Her partner has left her, she has little money, the kids need what kids need. Well food mainly. She has attitude. So would anyone in her position.

Angrily she storms down the stairs of her high rise carrying her baby boy and with her little daughters storming alongside her. She is wearing a nightie, and that's it. No shoes, no knickers. She stomps across a bleak working class estate and bangs on a door. When another young mother opens the door, Zoë falls upon her and the pair tumble out into the street fighting the way women do, hair in both hands, shrieking and swearing. There's some issue over their children squabbling. The neighbours drag them apart and as she beats a retreat, she and the kids, on her command, all together, give them The Finger.

Then Zoë meets an old flame Kai and the chemistry between them is palpable. Kai asks her out, but wonders who the children belong too. "I'm looking after them for a friend", lies Zoë. It's her first date for a long, long time, but she can't find a baby sitter. In the end she has to take the children with her. She's pulled between her genuine love for her children and her desperate need to, just once, break away from her troubles and have fun.

The story is powerful, supported by a careful and accurate screenplay. The whole cast plays well, but this is Nathalie Press' film. The Zoë character is feisty and frightened, blousy, brave and beautiful, despairing and hopeful, and Press hits the nail square on the head. The performances from the children are astonishing. Either the editors found some of the best child actors in Britain, or an enormous amount of material ended up on the cutting room floor as the editors tracked down just what they wanted. Kai needs to be gentle and intelligent, and the well-cast Danny Dyer gets it just right.

This short film really got to me. I it found heart breaking watching the young mother and her children gradually getting into more and more trouble. She just needed someone to take care of her! Director Andrea Arnold made a very special film. I score 10/10.

Update - and on 27th Feb 2005 Wasp won the Oscar for Best live action short film.

I think this short film is amazing. This is because of its naturalistic approach to filming and how the characters are portrayed in a very realistic style. I really feel for the character of Zoe. She is obviously desperate and you can see this in the scene where she dances with her kids to keep them happy outside the pub. Also, where she gives the children sugar.. to stop them from moaning and also partly because all she has in the house is mouldy bread. When the children pick the food off the floor is the most sad scene in a movie ever. You can see why she does what she does, and it shows a real portrayal of how some people live and how desperate they are for help.. :)

This really is an extraordinary and exceptional film. Gritty, real, touching and also incredibly tense and full of suspense. The free flowing nature of the camera-work adds to the already vivid realism, almost docudrama style. As a viewer you are drawn into this impoverished and deprived world, you feel immediate empathy for the central character in her desperate situation. She shows warmth, love and humanity to her children side by side with an appalling judgement about their well-being and safety. She is wonderfully contrasting yet totally believable and genuine.

It's a true eye opener of a film. Certainly one of the best short films I have ever seen. Worth going out of your way too see.