In the middle of all the killer robots and comic book villains that threaten the livelihood of movie protagonists the world over, sometimes there's nothing more villainous than an old woman with a pack of ciggies and an acid tongue.
SUGAR STICK, a new short film written and directed by Irish actress Laura Way, focuses on the relationship between Mary (Irene Wright) and Miriam (Kathleen Tierney), a couple of women who gather for tea regularly but more out habit than anything else now. Their friendship has turned sour, though only Mary knows it.
It's almost uncomfortably familiar - we've all, I'm sure, experienced those occasions when conversations go on too long, when friends begin to annoy, when you wish sometimes that a person would shut up just for a minute. SUGAR STICK takes that feeling to the extreme but in a darkly amusing way.
Given Ireland's rich heritage in theatre, it's not surprising that some of the country's films are often accused of being too talky and stage-like, however SUGAR STICK shows the positive side of that criticism. In a film that takes place in a single room with only two characters it might have been easy to fall into such a trap but Way's film does no such thing.
It's true that this aspect of the film is very well written - snappy dialogue is delivered with perfect timing by the perfectly cast actresses - but there is no neglect of the story either. While you've barely begun to wonder where the film is going, a few twists are thrown in just to throw you off balance (including one to watch out for during the closing credits).
On top of all this, the music is a perfect match and the film looks terrific - the kitchen having a wonderfully autumnal colour scheme of oranges and browns - which round off a delightful package. Watch out for it at a film festival near you soon.
SUGAR STICK is sponsored by Culture Ireland.
SUGAR STICK, a new short film written and directed by Irish actress Laura Way, focuses on the relationship between Mary (Irene Wright) and Miriam (Kathleen Tierney), a couple of women who gather for tea regularly but more out habit than anything else now. Their friendship has turned sour, though only Mary knows it.
It's almost uncomfortably familiar - we've all, I'm sure, experienced those occasions when conversations go on too long, when friends begin to annoy, when you wish sometimes that a person would shut up just for a minute. SUGAR STICK takes that feeling to the extreme but in a darkly amusing way.
Given Ireland's rich heritage in theatre, it's not surprising that some of the country's films are often accused of being too talky and stage-like, however SUGAR STICK shows the positive side of that criticism. In a film that takes place in a single room with only two characters it might have been easy to fall into such a trap but Way's film does no such thing.
It's true that this aspect of the film is very well written - snappy dialogue is delivered with perfect timing by the perfectly cast actresses - but there is no neglect of the story either. While you've barely begun to wonder where the film is going, a few twists are thrown in just to throw you off balance (including one to watch out for during the closing credits).
On top of all this, the music is a perfect match and the film looks terrific - the kitchen having a wonderfully autumnal colour scheme of oranges and browns - which round off a delightful package. Watch out for it at a film festival near you soon.
SUGAR STICK is sponsored by Culture Ireland.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment