Close: my impressions

I was lucky to be able to get to the screening at Ronnie Scott's last Tuesday evening, and thought I might share my impressions of the film if you are at all interested. Thanks again to  director Laura Windebank for letting us know about the screening and sharing the fantastic images.  

Of the three short films we saw on Tuesday, it was my favourite. And that isnt just my bias either. It was the one film I could relate to. Sadly Tom isn't in it very much, but as an ensemble piece and snapshot of life it is brilliant.

Basically, it tells a tale of the middle of the night experiences of various residents in a block of flats, as they are disturbed by the drunken homecoming antics of a couple of friends (no prizes for guessing who...)

The director cleverly dips in and out of each flat briefly, each scene building on the last and yet merging seamlessly to the next. I loved the way, throughout the film, our expectations were simultaneously met and yet challenged.

To begin with we see the legs and feet of two figures approaching the flat, giggling and making a lot of noise. I recognised Tom's voice immediately, although we dont see him in the film for quite a while.

As the whole place is disturbed we see the snapshot; the lonely and confused old man, the gay man whose one night stand may or may not lead to something more, the immigrant couple with a wakeful child desperately trying to get some sleep, to the student flat where late night cramming by one flatmate is ruined by the antics of the other two.

The film managed to encompass humour, intrigue and pathos and the ending had a sort of cliffhanger, making me want to see what happened next. I loved the way a lot of the story was told visually - the old man clearly a recent widower as he is still making 2 cups of tea yet living alone. As the story develops, we see how the unwitting actions from one flat could have disastrous consequences for them all.

Tom's character Mike and Rafe's character Eric were irritating, stoned drunks and I totally understood why Victoria Shalet's Mags was annoyed with them, as her studying was ruined by the giggling, loud music and cooking antics.

Not sure why they were cooking cat food in a fryng pan and adding what appeared to be an unusual cooking ingredient to it. Do cats eat hot food? Were they wanting to see how cats behave if completely stoned? Were they planning on eating it themeselves? Who knows! We didnt see any cat.

It is a film I would love to see again, as the Ronnie Scott's wasn't a location which allowed complete concentration, and I am sure I missed loads. Possible even got it all wrong...