A Fitting Tribute (2007)

Director:

Daniel Cormack

Writer:

Ben Clover (writer)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

An accident waiting to happen...

Plot Keywords:

Older Woman Younger Man | Son | Mother Son Relationship | Interview | Love

Cast

Sally Bretton	...	Tammy
Thomas Nelstrop	...	Niall
April Nicholson	...	Mrs. Wright

Also Known As:

Are You Strong? (UK) (working title) (USA) (working title)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Actaeon Films

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Who do you want me to be?

If you lost someone close to you then you could have a number different reactions. If you go out to work in the morning what do you expect to find? In this film both situations combine to provide an unexpected result.

Two journalists set out on a routine task to get a story of a young man who has died. The youngest one (Nelstrop) is given the job of knocking on the door of the family home. The more experienced one (Bretton) lectures him on the technique to use to get in the door. Mention the name of the deceased several times in the intro, use the phrase 'tragic loss' instead of death and most importantly get a picture, you must get a picture. His performance as a reporter hasn't been great so far and this could be his last chance

But it doesn't turn out like either of them expect. He gets in the door easily. The woman answers his questions in a bemused manner. She seems surprised by his questions, what is he talking about? Does he want to eat, then does he want to sleep? He accepts all this and is shown to the room of the dead young man. At this point the viewer (at least the one writing this review did!) realises what is going on but because this is subtlety done we don't reject the idea as crazy. It seems as if the woman is using him as a replacement to her lost son and just as worrying he seems to accept this.

Outside the female reporter grows tired of waiting and knocks on the door herself. But she is sent away confused, where has her colleague gone? Is this the house he went into? Why will he not come out?

All this is conveyed by Daniel Cormack in this short film with economy and precision. There are no gaps, no filler, no padding. In such a short film there is no time for that and there is also not much time to tell a story as completely as done here. The camera work is excellent switching between scenes perfectly and technically superb. This must have been a challenge across the different scenes in the car, street and various rooms in the house. the film is worth watching for this alone and actually now that I have told you the ending perhaps thats just as well!

We can only speculate what happens next. Does the man escape? Does he care? Is it preferable to stay here being looked after than getting back into the car to be hassled by his colleague. What does she report on when she gets back to the office? Hello, I'm back I didn't get the story and I'v e lost Niall ?

Perhaps if Cormack gets the chance to produce longer films then this could be revisited and the ideas explored further. Maybe even this film could be combined with Amelia & Michael in which a young man dies. Could this be the woman's son? The number of plots and subplots that idea throws up is mind boggling!!