A Slip In Time

A man's daily routine is suddenly interrupted. Another great short from CSC. It was really nice to see a slightly more serious film from this team, as they definitely do quirky awkward comedy really well, but it's always nice to see a team's versatility. I'd love to see something dark from them one day, but this was a nice step in that direction! A nice little story, very well shot as always from these guys. Was nice to see you actually filmed each day's shots again given the different shirts, rather than recycling the footage, was a nice added touch. The kids were great actors too! One thing I felt like I wanted at the end of the story was 'what happened' to him after that experience? How did he change? Did he get up on Monday and put Monday's shirt on? What happened the next time he saw the kids? Hopefully I didn't miss that in the story, so look forward to seeing it again. Would love to see this very capable team do ultra next year (I think they're eligible then?) :)

The short opens on a man, floating face down in a pool presumed dead and poses the question, how did he get there? Flashed back in time we are shown this man carrying out his every day, mundane routine as he wakes at the same time, cleans, feeds the cat, prepares the coffee, and then drinks it at his window creeping out the children walking to school each day. One night there is a storm which takes his alarm out and he awakens out of schedule and begins to panic as he rushes through his routine only to slip and fall into the pool, presumably hitting his head on the bottom rendering him unconscious. One of those children however having picked up on his pattern of being at the window every morning decides that there must be something wrong and they end up saving his life. The whole film is fairly polished though the sound isn't perfect, there was a hint of noise reduction in places. The movie sells the everyday repetitiveness of his life really well but I'm not sure it really nails the emotional climax of the movie that it's trying to achieve. Perhaps if the children weren't so indifferent in their conversations about the man in their daily travels to school one of them deciding to make sure he's okay would have played better though I think the ending plays off a little rushed.

STUNNING Cinematography and choice of shots to give insight to the lead character. Big fan of this female director and lead actor. I felt the shots of the kids and dialogue was the only hitch, as it didn't quite seem to match the beauty and tone of the rest of the film. Really good though, and so beautifully composed (I think I mentioned that already, but I just LOVE the choice of shots and editing variation used to covey the different days!).