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★★★
Directed by: #JimFord
Written by: #JimFord
Starring: #JimFord #HannahSloat
Short Film Review by: #ChrisBuick
It’s a small world after all, besides being the mantra for the most irritating theme park ride ever, is a phrase many would agree has a certain degree of truth to it. With the world being so connected and available to us as it is these days, one must be cautious that the life they thought they’d left back home can always catch up with them, no matter how many miles they try and put behind them.
In Jim Ford’s #shortfilm Small World, two people in a bar halfway across the world strike up a casual conversation after noticing a commonality in their American accents. What starts as a simple exchange in pleasantries between two perfect strangers soon evolves into a full-on meet cute once they realise that they are much more intrinsically linked geographically than they initially thought, and as their worlds overlap more and more, they soon realise that a relationship of sorts already exists.
What’s great about Small World is that there is actually nothing really wrong with it at all. The setting feels authentic (it was handpicked from over 70 locations so the filmmakers could get the right feel), the camerawork is simple, clean and effective, even the performances of our two leads are on point and making all the right moves. The writing also manages to establish a certain level of intrigue and sense of character despite only having two-and-a-half minutes to do so, and you do find yourself wanting to see how it all plays out, which is of course always a good sign.
The problem here though, is that there is nothing that really wows you about it either. Most of the filmmaking boxes are ticked and standards are met for sure, but it just feels like someone is playing along to a song while reading the sheet music and yes, they are hitting all the right notes at the right time, but they’re never injecting it with any real feeling or flair to make it stand out. The best way to describe Small World might be that it feels more like content for a showreel, a proof of concept piece perhaps that shows great filmmaking or acting promise for something bigger and better and on that basis Small World is a success, but as a piece of entertainment it's not exactly setting the world on fire.
It’s fair to say that Small World isn’t exactly a film that’s breaking any moulds, but it's equally important to point out that it doesn’t really seem to be trying to either. Ford is not only a prolific writer, actor and filmmaker but clearly a very talented one, however Small World feels like it could have maybe swung for the fences a bit more.
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