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Directed by Phil Whitehead
Written by Phil Whitehead and Adam Probets
Starring Ian Mark King, David Anthony Cross, Adam Probets.
Short Film Review by Rachel Pullen
Impulsive, by dictionary definition means, the act of doing something without forethought, and of course that can often have incredibly negative consequences, a topic that director and co writer Phil Whitehead decided to explore in this British short.
We are welcomed into the world of three friends who decide to take a weekend camping trip to try to take their buddy's mind of the recent death of his brother, tragically stabbed in a bar brawl in their company.
Whitehead pulls up a chair for the viewer round the campfire and become part of the banter and jokes during the opening of the film; we are introduced to each of the characters and given a small insight into their personalities allowing us to feel as if we too are part of the gang.
But things take a turn for the worse when it is uncovered that Mikey played by David Anthony Cross and Thomas, played by Ian Mark King had both been witnesses to the stabbing of their friend's brother in the bar and had done nothing to stop it and obviously this does not make for a pleasant weekend away for the friends.
Impulsive though is not a film about revenge, but more a study of the gut reactions we have sometimes as humans, and of course the reactions that these then cause. We see Adam Probets explore this through his role as David [as well as co-writing the piece], the brother of the deceased, who delivers a compelling and very believable performance.
Whitehead uses an array of interesting camera angles to add a little more spice to this low budget production, but falls short on arranging the audio, certain dialogue is lost during the campfire scene due to the microphone setup, making the sounds of the crackling fire to dominate the scene, this is something which is a shame due to the fact that dialogue is immensely important in understanding the plot of this short film.
Impulsive is an interesting and emotional short piece, an investigation into the grief and devastation that comes when dealing with the death of a loved one, as well as the fallout of these emotions, and of course a lesson on not always acting on our impulses.
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