Pigeonholes

A short comedy directed by James Skinner, written by Ben Marshall and starring Ronan Colfer, Jase Rivers and Katie Cannon.

In London, by chance, pickpocket and former prisoner, Jay (Colfer) is reunited with his estranged friend, Oz (Rivers). Oz has left his criminal days behind him and now works as a performance artist, with an event scheduled at a pub. The big day arrives, Jay attends and some thieving takes place, leading to complications.

What stands out the most in this film is Oz's performance. The artist does his one-man show by standing naked on a stage in front of a small crowd, playing a ukulele, with bits of paper attached to his body to be taken by customers so they can get their seat number. A bearded guy in a pub, no clothes on, playing music in silence, with a blank expression, while people observe him. Awkward and humorous. The script also follows Jay as he moves around the building, talking to people and having a meaningful encounter with Angel (Cannon), a young kind woman at the pub. The narrative alternates between the performance and flashbacks of Jay and Oz meeting again for the first time in ages, catching-up and discussing Oz's new activities.

This is a sort of buddy story that places equal emphasis on Oz and Jay. Oz is a reformed criminal who has chosen to pursue a career in performing arts. He pretty much steals the show due to being naked. On the other hand, recently-released-from-prison Jay remains a crook, a naive guy who also values his friendship with Oz. Cannon makes a significant impression with her supporting role as seemingly decent person.

This story explores friendship, the world of performance artists, the concepts of living a life of crime, starting over and having a passion. Two messages that it appears to be carrying is that people can change and that sometimes, people are not what they seem to be.

A comedy with adult humour and crime. A fun viewing.