"Breathe"

18 October 2022

6 mins

Do the 9-5 jive.

Thanks to flexible working, many people kissed the daily commute goodbye after the pandemic. Some, like the protagonist of this tender short film, went straight back to it. Emma Farnell-Watson plays a woman stuck on repeat, her week an impersonal blur until one evening, she comes to a halt on London Bridge.

What follows is a post-work dance routine that blends catharsis and concrete. Lost in her own world free of commuters, commitments, and computer screens, Farnell-Watson expresses herself under the glow of street lights.

Director Joe Connor and DP David Procter make the most of their key location, but they also nail the look and feel of the daily grind. This makes the subsequent outburst of emotion on Southwark Bridge resonate even more.

Farnell-Watson's searingly vivid performance is beautifully caught by director Connor and his cinematographer David Proctor, with the restrained movement behind the camera ensuring full attention is given to the movement in front of it. This a perfect study of a physical primal scream provoked by the overwhelming demands of the world of work.

UK

Short Film