Love Me or Leave Me Alone

In a small rural village, a boy and girl have a fight and each storm off their separate ways. The day passes and the boy realises that he shouldn't have a made a big deal out of the argument and tries to get in contact with his girlfriend. He takes his bike and sets out to try and find her before the end of the day.

Even though it's deceptively loud car noises implies a potentially more dramatic turn in the plot, this film is actually a day that encapsulates the trials of a teenage relationship where mood swings play as much of a part as feelings of love and affection. Here the film puts this angst into just one day where the teenage couple have a meaningless fight then spend the rest of the day in a mix of strops and mending. The film is low key but is interesting enough to hold the attention but it is a little frustrating in the way it misleads a little and gives the impression that the cars are going to play a major role.

Despite this the central relationship is still good and it is easy to see the dynamic of their village relationship in just a few simple scenes. The two actors do really well; although it was disconcerting to me to find Rieti pretty attractive despite her white trash clothes and look! The two come across very natural and they manage to deliver stuff that isn't in the dialogue.

Overall this is not a perfect film as it requires a lot of reading into it and misleads a little bit with the overloud traffic noises. Despite this it is a great little snapshot of a typical teenage relationship - passionate, rocky, bewildering and soul destroying.

Very unusual but captivating short movie. The settings are rather quaint but not off-putting, although the plot centres around a universal and familiar theme you are never quite sure where it is leading. One good feature of the film is the minimal script; it works well and allows the lead characters to convey emotion through body language and facial expressions.

It is directed well and the the acting isn't forced. The lead female is perfectly played by Zoe Rietti who no doubt has a bright and promising future in acting considering how natural she appears on screen and how effortlessly she plays her part.

All in all, good little film, watch it if you can!

I just felt like commenting. I saw this on British terrestrial TV only today. In the very early hours. It was funded in part by the channel I was watching it on, Channel 4.

I felt it was a touching film with a good yet stripped down cast. It did mislead like the previous reviewer mentioned. I do also feel that the narrative was a bit compressed towards the end. It felt like they were running out of time and needed to finish it. In particular it would have been good if we had been able to see the letter the girl had been writing a little more.

Ultimately I would like to see what this could have been. I also feel that it could not have been developed much further though.