Do Not Touch

A man's life spirals out of control, following a one-night stand.

Ben (Walsh) has made a mistake. He slept with Claudia (Engstrand), who happens to be an artist and after they have intercourse, she takes a picture of him lying in bed and keeps the condom. A couple of days later, Ben watches television and finds out that Claudia has been banned from a gallery due to the explicit nature of one of her pieces. That piece consists of a canopy bed, onto which photographs and names of her various lovers have been glued, along with the condom that was used for each occasion. Ben's photo and name are included and in a couple of days he is planning to visit that gallery, along with his partner. Now Ben is desperate to find a way to stop Claudia's work from ruining his life.

This short adult comedy is quite an experience and it focuses on a guy who has found himself in quite an awkward situation and follows the mental breakdown he goes through and his attempts to get himself out of potential trouble. Beginning with a shot that zooms in towards a house, while the sounds of intercourse are heard, it is clear that this is going to be a wacky experience. And generally, the plot is quite madcap: a man trying to remove a picture of himself from an object covered with photos of men and used condoms.

As the protagonist, Walsh is rather amusing as an adulterer whose cheating has gotten him into an embarrassing situation that might destroy his life and Walsh's performance succeeds at being panicked and desperate.

The filmmakers utilise all sorts of interesting techniques that work well largely thanks to Oswald Schuman's editing. There are two creative montages that between them contain fast cutting, close-ups and fish-eye lens techniques. Director of photography Oscar Read develops great cinematography which includes brief use of black-and-white. Large pink letters are used to announce the day of the week, revealing that the story takes place over the course of several days.

Regarding the audio, there are some sequences that contain overlapping voices and others where the diegetic sounds disappear and only non-diegetic music is heard, which includes the sound of drums. The addition of Gymnopedie No.1 by Erik Satie was an interesting choice.

This short tells an outrageous and funny story about adultery, art and consequences. The adult humour might not be to everyone's taste, however for those who enjoy adult comedies, this is an experience that will not disappoint.