Nicely tense and patient
Declan is a butcher who runs his own small shop which is named after his one true love – his dog. He is an upbeat guy and despite threatening letters addressed to him, he is cheerful and friendly – even taking the chance to flirt a little with a pretty customer who comes in to buy something for a dinner party.
I had to be careful writing that little plot two line summary, because saying too much will tell you much and this is a short film that is mostly driven by facts and events – and naturally one puts them together a little faster than the film would ideally have liked I guess. This is a slight problem in terms of the pacing (since this short runs over 15 minutes long), but it mostly manages it because it builds a tone of dread and a real sense of tension as it goes. All through the short there is the sense of something happening, and towards the end the film does in fairness know that we will all be a step ahead of it, so instead it cleverly plays it out to use, letting us think whatever we want but still refusing to tell us anything for sure – which makes it nicely tense in the final third.
The characters also help because we do feel for Declan throughout, which helps the tension because of whom we are invested in. Smith is really strong in the lead, making his character likable and hurt; Seyfried is a surprise find and despite her sticking out a bit at first, she is also good. Craig is a bit creepy and does sort of help the tension at the end, even if he is a bit overplayed as a character. The film has a very low-key look, with darker colors, open sets, quite a natural feel to it, which all suits the nicely patient pace to it.
It isn't amazing, but it is well made, with a strong cast, a good structure and pace, and produces a nice tension all the way to the end.
I had to be careful writing that little plot two line summary, because saying too much will tell you much and this is a short film that is mostly driven by facts and events – and naturally one puts them together a little faster than the film would ideally have liked I guess. This is a slight problem in terms of the pacing (since this short runs over 15 minutes long), but it mostly manages it because it builds a tone of dread and a real sense of tension as it goes. All through the short there is the sense of something happening, and towards the end the film does in fairness know that we will all be a step ahead of it, so instead it cleverly plays it out to use, letting us think whatever we want but still refusing to tell us anything for sure – which makes it nicely tense in the final third.
The characters also help because we do feel for Declan throughout, which helps the tension because of whom we are invested in. Smith is really strong in the lead, making his character likable and hurt; Seyfried is a surprise find and despite her sticking out a bit at first, she is also good. Craig is a bit creepy and does sort of help the tension at the end, even if he is a bit overplayed as a character. The film has a very low-key look, with darker colors, open sets, quite a natural feel to it, which all suits the nicely patient pace to it.
It isn't amazing, but it is well made, with a strong cast, a good structure and pace, and produces a nice tension all the way to the end.
- bob the moo
- Feb 13, 2015