Rory is a young teenager who starts his day out planning something nice and thoughtful for his friends, however across a day of awkwardness and conflict, he finds himself heading towards a different outcome.
This short film has a narrative but really it is more about the sense of the character, the feelings and actions of the time. The film does this pretty well as it has plenty of awkwardness, thoughtless "friendships" and small but painfully "teenage" moments that are part of growing up; the film picks over these with a convincing eye and it is hard to watch because it feels real in the world of Rory – and importantly, Rory's world will feel real and familiar to viewers even if the specifics wildly differ. The problem is though, that while this is good, the film moves slowly without too much else to carry it along. When we get to the more serious events, again it convinces in the impulsive bubbling up of rage without knowing what it is directed at, and the immediate shame of that impulsiveness, however it feels too out of nowhere and not really built to in a way that satisfies.
It is all played out convincingly and the young cast play their roles very well, but outside of the feeling of them being real teenagers with recognizable challenges, I did want it to have more than the sluggish pace it had and also deliver a bit more narrative in a satisfying manner. It is good for what it does, but I would have liked it to do more.
This short film has a narrative but really it is more about the sense of the character, the feelings and actions of the time. The film does this pretty well as it has plenty of awkwardness, thoughtless "friendships" and small but painfully "teenage" moments that are part of growing up; the film picks over these with a convincing eye and it is hard to watch because it feels real in the world of Rory – and importantly, Rory's world will feel real and familiar to viewers even if the specifics wildly differ. The problem is though, that while this is good, the film moves slowly without too much else to carry it along. When we get to the more serious events, again it convinces in the impulsive bubbling up of rage without knowing what it is directed at, and the immediate shame of that impulsiveness, however it feels too out of nowhere and not really built to in a way that satisfies.
It is all played out convincingly and the young cast play their roles very well, but outside of the feeling of them being real teenagers with recognizable challenges, I did want it to have more than the sluggish pace it had and also deliver a bit more narrative in a satisfying manner. It is good for what it does, but I would have liked it to do more.
