A man walks round his old neighborhood of Hackney, recognized by a few old friends, but seeming to be pretty unresponsive and appearing to be struggling with his emotions and anger at something. We follow him through this journey with an unusual view – with the camera directly above his head and fixed to his movement, essentially the "god view" used by many strategy games. In this way it is hard not to focus on the manner of delivery first and foremost, and it is certainly memorable. Some viewers may find it a bit too dizzying and unfamiliar a viewpoint to stick with for the whole film, but it is arresting and the detachment from the character does make it intriguing as a form.
That said, I am not sure what it adds to the film apart from taking away our ability to read the situation by seeing the character's face. The short has a dramatic conclusion, and one that again is impacting and memorable, but like the camera – I'm not entirely sure that it works in terms of a narrative. As such it is an odd mix of a film – one that doesn't wholly satisfy as a narrative, but that is actually pretty intriguing in terms of how it is filmed and where it ends up. So not an overall success, but one worth seeing anyway.
That said, I am not sure what it adds to the film apart from taking away our ability to read the situation by seeing the character's face. The short has a dramatic conclusion, and one that again is impacting and memorable, but like the camera – I'm not entirely sure that it works in terms of a narrative. As such it is an odd mix of a film – one that doesn't wholly satisfy as a narrative, but that is actually pretty intriguing in terms of how it is filmed and where it ends up. So not an overall success, but one worth seeing anyway.
