Tags archives: Christien Anholt
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7 years ago
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Like a good short story, a well crafted short film can really pack a punch. Unlike features, which often have the luxury of a couple of hours to set the scene, establish a tone, animate characters and tell a story, a short film must get the job done in (generally) less than 40 minutes. With his trio of debut shorts, British journalist-turned-director Neville Pierce skillfully manages to do it all in under 11 minutes each.
In Bricks, the scene is the basement of posh rich-boy William (Blake Ritson), who gets a bricklaying lesson from the earthy Clive (Jason Flemyng), hired to renovate the wine cellar. Clive is clearly dismissive of his effete employer, who doesn’t know one type of trowel from another. “You people and your money,” he sneers at one point. They seem to bond over a nice glass of Rioja, but things soon turn horrific. Great acting (especially from Ritson, creepy as hell); understated, unsettling music and quiet direction make for a chilling update of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado.”
Ghosted, a charming, offbeat, black-and-white film, has quite a different vibe, though it too has a slightly surreal quality. Widowed artist Rebecca (Alice Lowe) suffers through a series of lackluster first dates, as the charismatic ghost of her late husband Nigel (Christian Anholt) looks on, wisecracking and generally getting in the way. Though he seems to be trying to help, we learn that he was far from an ideal mate, and in fact expired while cheating on his[...]
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