24 Feb 2012

The Last Post ★★★☆☆



Review of 'The Last Post' which can be found here at Online Short Films

Length: 08:20
Written by Stephen Plaice and directed by Ed Blum
Genre: Comedy
Date: 1996
Rating: ★★★☆☆

Logline: A business man posting a bid to win a contract tries to outsmart a rival competitor as time runs out for the last post.

Here's a BAFTA nominated film that looks a little dated now but hearkens back to an age where short films were indeed produced to the same degree as full length films. I appreciate the aspect ratio is off on the posted video but if you can see past that you should get a well crafted piece of work.

Starring television veterans Maureen Beattie, Bill Thomas and Richard Hope, you can expect quality acting. They all add life to otherwise uninteresting dialogue. Pacing was a little slow for me but then I am of a generation with an attention span akin to that of a gnat. It hits all the right beats structurally, divided clearly into three parts, has setups and pay offs, mirroring and character development.

I've slotted it into the comedy genre but to be honest, you won't laugh out loud at any of this. A smile at best. There is comedy in the acting rather than the dialogue as well as the twist and punchline at the end but realistically not very funny at all.
What was funny though, was the unapologetic sexist grabbing of a woman's arse which even for 1996, is outlandishly out dated. Of course it sets up nicely Beattie's revenge twist in the last scene so she gets the last laugh.

Mimicking a feature production, camera, lighting, sound and the rest are well crafted leaving no doubt that this is a quality production. Unfortunately, unlike the arse, it just doesn't grab me.

Best Bit: Cinematic presentation.

Worst Bit: It's kind of boring.

Final thought: Wonder what beat it in the BAFTA awards?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

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