Last Minute

A short comedy drama written and directed by Michael Cusumano and starring Charity Schubert and Espyn Doughty.

12-year-old Jason (Doughty) has a problem: he has school homework to do and the deadline is tomorrow. So, he needs help and who better to ask for assistance than his mother (Schubert), who reluctantly agrees. It is a science assingment involves choosing an element from the Periodic Table, state five facts about it and create a visual aid, illustrating that fact. Jason has chosen plutonium. However, the year is 1989 and there is no internet to save the day. No mobile phones either for that matter. So the two of them need to resort to old-fashioned solutions if they are to succeed.

This rather enjoyable and intriguing race-against-the-clock story brings the viewer back in time, a time where obtaining information about this and that was a lot more challenging and it explores this concept via a last-minute-homework situation. With a light-hearted atmosphere, the vast majority of the narrative revolves around Jackie (the mother's name) phoning a variety of people, among them friends, relatives, even poison control and in comedic ways, they gradually gather the required information.

It is rather interesting observing the ways in which people used to get information back in those days and this film effectively establishes a 1980s environment via the mise-en-scene, particularly thanks to the hairstyle, the telephones and the typewriter. And the electronic music by Bootsy Spankins is another factor that creates an eighties atmosphere.

Doughty's character is a simple young boy, naive, insecure and irresponsible, yet, he means well. Jackie is a responsible parent, an efficient and patient person who knows how to deal with difficult situations. Both actors make their characters appear likeable.

This short is about support, knowledge and working towards a target. Perhaps more crucially, it points out the significance of internet and how technology in general makes people's lives more comfortable and, of course, it shows how things were back then, how everyone managed without the precious internet.

A mother-and-son story on a mission to get all the information they need before time runs out. A fun and moving viewing that works as a reminder regarding life during times when technology was more limited.