Bait

A single father prepares for a job interview while his young son, Clint, prepares sandwiches for their lunch. When he goes for the interview, Clint has to wait in a café next door for his Dad. While there he loses their lunch to a homeless man. Clint's Dad returns from the interview to find his lunch gone and confronts the hungry man with unexpected results.

The storyline is pretty much what happens but it won't spoil it for anyone with an interest in emotion rather than plot facts. This is essentially a short film focusing on Clint - how he lives and how he deals with an unemployed father who is clearly living on the bread line. It's quite moving to see the boy caring for his father almost as equals - only separated by ability and not love. The frustration the Dad feels about his situation is also apparent.

This frustration is well portrayed by Hart in the difficult scene with the hungry man - it isn't totally convincing, but only because it's a short film and hasn't much time to build up. However the Dad is totally believable from the start - Hart manages to convey so much history with looks and reactions. Adrian Coates as Clint is amazing - he isn't a cute child actor that we see in Hollywood stuff but he is totally believable in his role and manages to carry all of it so very well. Most of the story is told through his expressions - he must convey hurt, compassion, fear and love through looks and actions and he does it so very well. I'm not going to start shouting about `watching this space' etc but here he is absolutely captivating - even when left alone in an empty café.

Overall a moving little short on a hard life from a child's point of view.

This film is both tragic & heroic, as it beautifully encapsulates the emotions of an unemployed man desperate for a job. He takes his son along to the town where he has an interview, leaving him in the local cafe to wait, minding their sandwiches. But things go awry for both the father & his son. The emotion in this film is gut-wrenching in the story's simplicity, & is superbly acted by Ian Hart. Truly how shorts are supposed to be made!