Storytelling Unit: Short Film Review 1

In order to try and draw up some inspiration and possible ideas for my 10minute script, I researched short films online, and came across some very interesting ones. One of those films was called ‘Don’t you Forget’ by Tom Bryan and it related to my idea on so many levels. It contained a similar scenario to my own, though the plot is completely different.


Review

Don't You Forget
Director: Thomas Bryon
Writer(s): Kashman Harris and Thomas Bryon
Length: 19:47

‘Don’t you Forget’ is a short film drama based on the strong bond between a teenage boy and his grandfather. The boy is of an age where he’s just starting to explore himself, and when most young people begin to enjoy themselves. However, to his indignation, he is forced to come to terms with loosing his Grandfather to the cruel disease, Alzheimer’s. Mathew lives with his grandfather Albert and from my interpretation they have for some time. They have built this solid everyday routine, as indicated by the montage repetition of shots. We are introduced to this right from the beginning of the film. I liked how this film gave a long, well defined background to the characters and their relationship before the Alzheimer’s becomes really prominent. I feel as though it made the audience have more sympathy towards them, knowing how close they were, and how much Albert changes through this mental illness. This short film even involved a meeting. When a new character (the girl) was introduced, it was written in such a way that made it feel all the more natural. The dog running away and her finding him had actual purpose, like it was almost fate. At first she is hesitant to come inside for a cup of tea, but is more obliged to do so from pity for Albert.

There is a change in the plot when the  cracks begin to show.  Mathew soon realises that something far more serious is happening to his grandfather that he thought; it is no longer just being ‘a bit forgetful’. The worst part of this being that there is nothing he can do about it; it’s a degenerative illness. However, that doesn’t mean to say he can’t to anything to make him feel more comfortable and happier in his tragic disposition.

The use of music was significant to this piece. It was the basis to the different flashbacks and hallucinations that often come with Alzheimer’s. For example, when he plays the piano, he has a conversation of his wife who’s dead. He hallucinates sitting next to him. They discuss how they used to play the piano together. Then later on at the end of the film he throws on a record of ‘Dream a little dream of me’ by Ella Fitzgerald. He turns around and discusses with his wife how they danced to it at their wedding. He then goes to dance with her.

Inspiration

I have taken a lot of useful ideas from watching this piece, which has inspired me for my own project.

When left on her own the girl starts to play the piano, and it instantly captures Albert’s attention when he enters the room. He eventually gives her lessons and I feel it went to show how important the use of music is throughout life. When researching for my project earlier on I said how I was inspired by the significance of music in the BBC television series ‘Life on Mars’. I just wasn’t sure how I could include this myself until I watched this short film. There is this theory that people like the music of their era not because it was better necessarily, but because it takes them back in time, to a place where in hindsight, they were happier and more content.

This music also brought about the hallucinations, which I found to be very meaningful. They weren’t stereotypical in their style and they worked very fluidly. This really coincided with the screenwriting philosophy of showing not telling. We didn’t need to be told that his wife was dead, it was insinuated through having hallucinations, and she disappeared when brought back to reality when Matthew enters the scene. Something I also noticed was a vital part of mise en scene; when he has this last hallucination, the lighting instantly changed. This was made very obvious by keeping the shot of the turntable, but suddenly giving this orange tint to it, creating this imagery of a sunset.  Its connotation being the idea of freedom, as we associate sunsets with freedom. Although Albert isn’t in his right state of mind he is happy, and the world he imagines is perhaps the world he feels the most comfortable in. The characters didn’t always have to be speaking dialogue for the audience to understand what going on which is something that has inspired me for my own script. I too would like to show as much as possible without having to explain what I want to get across.