User Reviews

The Girl In The Lay-By was made as part of the BBC's '10x10: New Directors' series - ten films of ten minutes by new directors - in 2000. Five years later one line sticks in my mind - when Coll turns down the opportunity of a dance with Tom, saying maybe another time, he replies "No - you get your chance, and then it's gone.".

Dance is a common metaphor for life, and after Tom's death this line makes Coll realise she must act now or remain forever where she is. The small cast, bleak weather and narrow setting - a trailer in the lay-by and the nearby graveyard - aid the impression of being trapped. The few characters seem very real, and in the few minutes I had in which to get to know them, I did begin to care about their fates. The film deservedly was nominated for a BAFTA.

With any short film, one question is inevitably asked: could it be extended to a full-length film? The narrow setting and small cast are essential for the atmosphere of the film, and so a full-length version would rely entirely on dialogue, which in the ten-minute version is excellent. Director Sarah Gavron has now begun working on longer films, so perhaps she will consider it.