I was fortunate enough to come across Ryan Can't Read whilst I was in attendance at the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival on Friday 16th May 2025. I was actually in the Friday evening drama screening to watch my own film (Whispers of Freedom), when Ryan Can't Read came on screen. And wow.
I don't say it lightly, having watched hours upon hours of short films, but I think this is one of the best drama short films I have come across. It is truly faultless. Production-wise it's very well made, the acting is superb and the story is complete (the last point being an issue that seems to haunt many short films which often struggle to round out and provide the narrative with a satisfying conclusion).
The story is tight, and well-paced, a testament to the writing of Lewis Ian Bray - who also happens to portray Ryan - and his co-writer Rhys Chapman - who also directs. The cinematography of Borja Lopez Diaz does an excellent job in cleverly adding to the sense of building frustration on the part of Ryan. The score weaves in and out at relevant junctures, emphasising the mood beautifully.
Ryan (Lewis Ian Bray) and his best friend Tyrone (James Nelson-Joyce) are spectacular. Ian Bray really captures the sense of someone struggling to read, and the upsetting nature of the social isolation that a person in such a situation must inevitably feel. The attempts to read by Ian Bray as Ryan could well have come across as a weak point, but Ian Bray effortlessly stammers and stutters as someone learning to read does. Nelson-Joyce takes on the mantle as an "unlikely mentor" brilliantly. Without spoiling, there is a soul-crushing moment which Nelson-Joyce delivers perfectly, and purely through facial expression alone, some upsetting news to Ryan. The two have fantastic chemistry together.
A 10/10 short film. I would change nothing about it. Well done to all the cast and crew!
