Man and Boy

Although this is not a fun short film to watch, it is an effective one thanks to how well it is constructed in the writing, structured in the edit, and delivered on the set. The plot sees a father going to a neighboring flat to confront a man who he believes has sexually assaulted his son. From here we see the many points of the story at around the same time.

The effect is to see that nobody in the film is really an 'innocent'. Everyone has done wrong here and there is little doubt that there is blame and guilt to spread around. Naturally we want to have a 'side' in a film and I found it nicely unsettling not to be able to find one, but rather to be thrown around somewhat. The subject matter is highly emotive and again it plays off this to produce conflict and tension. The performances deliver on this well – in particular Marston is very good in probably the most difficult role.

In the end it is not a 'fun' experience, but it is well played out, and the structure of the film makes for a more compelling and difficult watch, which is a good thing.