New Years Eve, 1999, fifteen minutes until midnight in Greenwich. Steven Armitage plans to be the first person to commit suicide in the new Millennium and broadcast it live on the internet. However, his power cuts out due to a dud card in the meter and he goes to try and get one from his landlord. However he only stumbles into a similar attempt to cash in on Millennium fever.
Based around the idea that many people did try and get some cash out of the tabloids by being the `first whatever' of the year 2000, this short sees an unlikely but energetic situation where a man achieves just that; albeit not the way he planned. The action may be stretched but it isn't forced. In fact it actually works pretty well in a mishmash of a way. The story is dramatic and it keeps the attention. The ending is a bit of a wet ending but doesn't really spoil the film.
The cast are pretty good and I must admit I was surprised to see Gambon in one of the main roles; good to see actors supporting short films with their names and faces. The rest of the cast are pretty good and Lee-Wilson leads the film well despite us never really being allowed to feel a great deal for his character.
Overall this is unusual and imaginative enough to be worth seeing. The plot may be exaggerated but it moves fast enough so that that doesn't matter as much. It perhaps has passed it's ideal shelf life a bit by being set on one night over four years ago, but it still is fresh enough to consume.
