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Directed by Oliver S. Milburn
Starring Sarah Parish & Robert Emms
Short Film Review by Chris Olson
Dark comedy Dunroamin is an offbeat and well written piece about a young man called Steven (Robert Emms) attending a house viewing that seems to get weirder and weirder as the seller, Joanna (Sarah Parish) is subjected to increasingly baffling and intimate questions.
Opening with a rather splendid use of Canon,director Oliver S. Milburn's film is a movie full of quirky contrasts. The man who approaches the house could by no means be described as threatening or sinister - dressed in homey clothing and adopting the politest of demeanours. However, his behaviour is anything but polite. From the moment he enters the country house, he breaks with all accepted codes of conduct; venturing into rooms uninvited, asking incredibly personal questions, and making rather worrying comments about there being no phone signal or whether the doors can lock from the outside.
This is well executed comedy filmmaking. Aside from the very funny script, Milburn makes use of some fantastic high angled sweeping shots during the opening to pull the audience in with rural tranquility before letting the internal shots of the house, which become increasingly uncomfortable, to take over. Much like Joanna, the audience has no idea of what strangeness is on its way. This is just one of the clever devices used, to give more away would spoil any potential viewing.
Dunroamin could have benefitted from a stronger ending, it leaves on a bit of a whimper after showing such potential. That being said, there is a lot to enjoy here and it was a nice addition to the Raindance Film Festival UK Shorts Programme, which was heavily laden with dramas. The laughs are genuine and perfectly dark, whilst the performers are engaging throughout, in particular Emms who shines as the woolly weirdo.
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