"Time"

22 March 2020

4 mins 34s

Last call.

This emotionally charged short film evokes ‘Bronson’ and ‘Starred Up’ in its depiction of solitary confinement. Co-director Neil Linpow (who also stars and writes) turns a prison cell into a confessional, as a man tries to make peace with his family before a riot knocks on his door.

We don’t know what crime(s) Linpow’s felon has committed; what we do know is that his only defence is the sharpened end of a toothbrush. Over the course of one bittersweet phone call to his son, however, it’s clear whose survival matters most.

Linpow sells this dire resignation well, as the battered and bruised Joyce gauges the approaching storm while putting on his best ‘daddy’ voice when it’s needed most. Aided by some fiercely intimate camerawork, this is a grimly enthralling narrative debut.

UK

Short Film