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★★★★
Directed by: #JulienCornwall
Written by: Julien Cornwall
Starring: #JamesCorrigan, #ChristopherAdams, #ChrisKaye, #PaulDewdney, #FlorenceRoberts
The Ritual meets Weekend At Bernie's in this short comedy The Lost Scot from filmmaker Julien Cornwall. Starring James Corrigan, Christopher Adams, and Chris Kaye as three friends on a clay shooting trip in the Scottish moorlands that goes comically hazardous.
What do you get when a cynic (Corrigan), a drunkard (Kaye) and an accountant (Adams) get given free reign of a fully working shotgun? A gun wound to the chest for the poor gamekeeper (Paul Dewdney). As a punchline to a joke in a film review not great but as a plot to a fiercely funny short film it works excellently. As the three mates (who seem to bicker more than banter) traipse back to civilisation with the body of the gamekeeper in tow, plenty more errors in judgement occur and the fabric of their friendship hangs by a thread.
Terrifically timed and sharply edited to keep the jokes packing a full punch, The Lost Scot is a rare gem - a flawlessly funny film. Every aspect of the #filmmaking is heightened to ensure the tone stays consistently comedic and to a high standard. At no point does this feel like amateur hour, in fact audiences could be forgiven for thinking they were watching a short film from a seasoned director (this is Cornwall's second outing in the chair).
Each of the five performances is brilliant. Corrigan's misanthropy is spectacular, Kaye's encumbrance is droll, Adams' peacekeeping is enjoyable, Dewdney's teaching is brusquely likeable, and Florence Roberts as the wife of the Gamekeeper is terrifically subtle. Together this is a powerhouse cast and could easily stand up to a feature length challenge.
As a comedy, The Lost Scot ticks all the boxes, yet still more could have been done with the depth of the piece. Like most movies of this genre, where disaster and guffaws collide, preference is given to the high notes rather than the low. Whilst many of the characters bemoan their situation, no actual contemplation of its severity occurs and consequently avoids taking the piece to another level. Which is understandable in a short format where time constraints dictate a lot of what transpires in the story.
Funny, foul-mouthed, and full of tragic hijinx, The Lost Scot is a marvellous short comedy film that worthily contributes to the lads on tour goes wrong genre. Its aim is far better than that of its characters when it comes to tickling the ribs and Julien Cornwall marks himself as a formidable filmmaker in the making.
Watch the short film trailer below.
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