7/27/2019 Magazine Review Final Word Doc

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evenge. In this case, fatal revenge. For young, spider collecting Max, the only thing standing

in the way of having a normal life is a sadistic and vicious bully Sarah. Max has enough, he

snaps.

The film is called „Max‟, conveniently the name of the lead. A simple title, but why would you want to

faf around with a fancy name when you have five minutes of story to fill.

Vengeance is a reoccurring theme in this short film. I suggest watching with an open mind; don‟t

feel sympathy for either characters. Max is the one with blood on his hands, but Sarah doesn‟t

deserve sympathy after you see her torture Max through „catty‟ acts, and yes, there is a Twixinvolved. The film may be hard to understand at first watch. The film-makers Molly Harding, Sophie

Boone and Laura Williams have included flashbacks, filters and floodlighting to represent feelings

and possible metaphors. A second viewing would definitely be recommended.

Settings include a beach, a school and a bus stop. Basic settings I know, but these settings work

very well with the metaphors represented in this film. The crashing waves to represent Max‟s anger

towards his bully; the rippling waves that hit the shore portraying the peace Max‟s life will have now

that Sarah is out of the picture. I personally love it when settings reflect mood, it can change the

whole of an audiences perspective. This film does this fantastically.

Although the younger actors are clearly unexperienced, Ben Radcliffe and Daisy Kilduff perform

excellently and display some effort considering it is one of their first leading roles. Ben describes

his experience on set as “enjoyable” He said to me during filming “Even though this is my first time

acting in front of a camera I am enjoying it thoroughly and would like to continue acting in the

future.” The film is split between these two protagonists and a teacher type character. He is known

in the film as the “interviewee”. He is Max‟s teacher and is interviewed about Max‟s personality and

definies actions, which results as a voiceover in the film. The interviewee is played by experienced

and renowned actor Jonathan Cox. He does an excellent job of describing Max‟s story and brings

emotion to the role. The film would make little to no sense without this voiceover.

My favourite part of the film is the scene where Max has a daydream. The bully has been taken care

of and Max‟s life has suddenly become perfect. As he is walking away from his actions he bends

down to tie a shoelace and when he stands back up the setting has suddenly changed. He is in a

house, with a girlfriend, a dog, a Christmas tree and a cup of tea. Obviously a dream of the perfect

life he might have after the bullying has stopped. The scene has been filmed stylistically and helps

the audience gain a good understanding of what goes on in this troubled young boy‟s head. One

criticism I have is that it lacks background knowledge. We know nothing of Max‟s family and only a

little of the bullying is shown. Some people may say it‟s not too much to snap over but in a short

time the film still does a good job exhibiting Max‟s emotions and upset.

I may have spoken about the simplicity of this film, the title and settings, but I would recommend

watching the short film „Max‟. Perhaps it is for more of you arty types but I think anyone could

watch it and enjoy the narrative and appreciate the cinematic techniques.

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