Spider

This is an exceptional piece of film. Brilliantly crafted by Nash Edgerton, I think there is little doubt he is about to make a huge impact on the Australian film industry. This 9 minutes is high impact film making with stunning visuals, slick editing, moody cinematography, amazing production value and kick ass directing. Beyond his obvious skills behind the camera and in the editing suite, Nash plays the lead character with great skill and timing. A measured performance before the mayhem sets in. What else can one say when superlatives do not do this offering justice. I eagerly look forward to Nash's debut feature film currently in production.

After watching Spider as well as another short film titled Lucky, it seems that Nash Edgerton has a slightly warped mind that relishes the bizarre unexpected plot twist. Even though the final twist in Spider is rather macabre, I also found it kind of humorous - sort of a "that's horrid but it does serve you right" reaction.

The production of Spider is very real-life and natural feeling, gritty rather than slick. The actress who plays Jill, Mirrah Foulkes, is especially good. Her reactions to Jack's 'sweeet' attempts at making up and to his dreadfully misguided joke, are most believable.

Watching Spider is like reading an imaginative short story, I hope to be able to view more offbeat and good stories by Mr. Edgerton.

Like most movie-goers, I've seen Joel Edgerton in many movies but not so with Nash Edgerton, his brother. So, it's refreshing to see Nash again, even in such a short story.

And what a story! Young man and young woman (Jack and Jill - what a giggle), having had a tiff of some sort, are driving around Sydney suburbs. Jack's trying to make amends; Jill's ignoring him. He turns on the music; she kills it. She's driving, he's trying to regain her interest - and perhaps trust - again. The traffic is quick and thick. She's keeping her eyes on the road. Small talk from him gets nowhere....

Got the picture?

Suddenly, Jill rolls the car into a gas station. She's out quickly and starts pumping. Jack gets out, enters the nearby shop, up to the counter and starts picking out goodies for his girl, the usual stuff: flowers, card, chocolate - and one item you don't quite get a good look at, except it's black.

Jack's back in the car first. He places flowers all over the seat and dashboard, hangs up the card on the rear-view, places some yummy chocs near the steering wheel, and puts something up behind the sun-visor. Jill gets in, throws flowers out the window, gets the car going, joins the traffic. She ignores him and the chocolates; and drives. He puts another chocolate on the dashboard. And another. She snatches one up. He holds one in his fingers, extends it. Now, a ghost of a smile which turns to a grin, as she tries to get it from his fingers. She laughs aloud; he joins in.

And then ... Jill somehow brushes against the sun-visor, the black thing - we see a large rubber fake spider - falls onto her lap, she screams, barely misses a head-on collision with another car, screeches to a stop, scrambles out as Jack's desperately trying to soothe her fears, she backs away and....

Then Jack learns the price we all can pay when self-inflicted, unintended consequences fall into place. The dramatic irony is exquisite and concurrently comedic. I'm sure, were he alive today, Honoré de Balzac would approve. Regardless of what you think, I recommend you see this little beauty to find out what really happens.

I never accord a ten out of ten for anything, although I was tempted; but this is definitely nine. And I recommend it for all (except young kiddies, of course).

5th October, 2018

Spider, the viral short film that laid the foundations of the Jack trilogy, based on the experiences of Nash Edgerton, who plays Jack and co-writes all 3 installments with his colleague and fellow countryman David Michôd, responsible for three other gems such as Animal Kingdom, The Rover and The King.

Spider is characterized by a very naturalistic and fluid mise-en-scene, filmed by the now highly sought-after Greig Fraser. In Spider we follow the couple Jill and Jack as they drive around Sydney in a classic lemon Peugeot. Jill is played by fellow director Mirrah Foulkes, who we discovered in the aforementioned Animal Kingdom. In Spider, the protagonist couple is in the throes of an argument, where Jill's silences increase the tension. Jack awkwardly tries to patch things up with his girlfriend. We don't know the exact reason for the discord, but it doesn't seem to be the first time Jack screws up and the only thing he can think of to say is that it was a joke. Something that Jill will throw in his face, for taking things too far. Alluding to Jack's mother's foreboding advice at the beginning: "It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye". This is where Jack's inner conflict comes to the fore, where his romantic side clashes diametrically with his compulsive prankster and catalyst, increasing the suspense of the short.

The tone of the short film is absurd, tragic and humorous at the same time, without being as raunchy as Jackass. Curiously, one can identify with it, there is a very real couple fight, universal fears such as spiders and needles, which achieve a communion with the audience and not only remains in the final anecdote. The consequences of Spider's Karma, is an idea that Nash Edgerton would go on to explore in 2008's "The Square", his feature debut, written and co-starring his brother Joel.

*A more detailed review can be found on the youtube channel Kristonkino.

Jack(Edgerton, charming, who also directs) and Jill(Foulkes, cute) are driving, well, she is, to be more precise, and he's in the front passenger seat. She's annoyed with him – he always takes things too far. A bit of a practical joker, that one. They stop for gas, and he buys her some apology gifts… and something else.

This uses its 8 minute running time(not counting the end credits, with, it's 9) well. Everything is established, set up. We're shown with a few shots and seconds everything we need to know about these two, as individuals, together, and each decision and event builds, until we reach the hilarious major punchlines. If you want outrageous, pitch black humor, Aussie productions are definitely the way to go. Production values are solid. Nothing feels like it's on a budget. This is a sweet rom-com about a couple who can get on each other's nerves… but who do really love each other. And then that is interrupted by a sudden burst of comedy, which is all the more effective by its surrounding short.

There is some brutal, disturbing content in this. I recommend it to anyone who loves this kind of thing. 8/10