Author: Gabriella Incalza Kaplanova

This is a story of excesses, of wanting more, of pushing the boundaries. And it all comes with a high cost.

Billy (Tyler Tackett) and Alice (Mair Mulroney) are a young couple in love who seem to have it all. And sometimes having it all is simply not enough. So they seek more and find refuge in a drug-fuelled weekend in, joined by a pizza guy (Paul Stanczak) who delivers much more than food.

This award winning short film is beautifully shot, and at times their excessive ‘fun’ becomes unbearable as it vividly depicts the high and lows of drug taking. And we know right from the beginning that things will not end up well, as Billy wakes up on his couch desperate to piece things together, while Alice is nowhere to be seen.

Flashbacks thread this short film with vivid imaginary and impressive acting. I found it hard to simply follow and enjoy it but knowing that there was a silver lining in there somewhere, turned it into addictive watching. Because, after all, this is a cautionary tale, and with cautionary tales, you want to go back, and watch it again.

Candy & Ronnie

Billy Isaaks (Tyler Tackett) sits paralyzed in his darkened living room piecing together fragmented flashbacks of his tumultuous relationship with live-in girlfriend Alice Murphy (Mair Mulroney). He fondly remembers the early days of puppy love but his memory soon unleashes the not so distant past when an innocent evening of recreational drug use 360’s into a weekend drug binge with the pizza guy (Paul Stanczak). Is Billy repressing thoughts of a threesome, the drugs he knows they took or both? His nightmare unravels before our eyes.

Shocking, disconcerting and twisted are only but a few adjectives that come to mind after watching this Chilean movie directed by Pablo Larrain (Tony Manero, No).

And yet, I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to watch it, for it not only sheds light on a subject rarely touched by film, but it handles it with such disturbing ambiguity all throughout that it challenges you on a number of levels. And I love when that happens.

The Club narrates the story of a nun and four retired Catholic priests living in a small seaside resort. Their life runs like clockwork in a liturgy of meals, prayers and penitence, and a very limited amount of time when they can freely wonder about town.

Their predictable living away from temptation is suddenly disrupted by the arrival on a new cleric and a mentally troubled young man who forces the group to face their fears and their disturbing past.

A Vatican emissary comes to investigate their reactions to a shocking development and results in a sea of uncertainty with morbid and grotesque humour, where no one is sinless.

Beautifully directed, The Club showcases outstanding performances and signature photography throughout the film. Awarded the Jury Grand Prix at the 65^th Berlin International Film Festival, The Club was selected as the Chilean entry for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards. Sadly, it didn’t make the nomination, though.

Painful, often repugnant and hard to follow, The Club is a challenging watch that plays with your mind and the ‘socially acceptable’ conventions. However, if you’re prepared to come to terms with an array of horrendously tough subjects to digest and stomach churning scenes, I can’t but recommend this film.

The Club is out in UK cinemas now. Watch the trailer here

“In London, you never know your own neighbours”, thunders one of the protagonists of this psychological thriller directed by acclaimed British playwright and theatre director David Farr. And that unsettling information infiltrates every second of The Ones Below, keeping you glued to your seat all throughout the movie because, quite literally, you never quite know what may happen next.

Kate (Clemence Poesy) and Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore) are a happily married couple expecting their first baby. They live on the first floor of a north London building overlooking their neighbour’s messy garden. When the owner of the apartment downstairs passes away, the flat is sold in no time. As the renovation works are completed and the garden beautifully manicured, Kate is impatient to find out who the new owners are.

One day, Kate finally notices two pairs of shoes neatly positioned outside the downstairs flat and, before she can ring the doorbell, Teresa (Laura Birn) bursts out and overwhelms her with her massive bump and her bubbly and imposing personality. The two pregnant ladies couldn’t be more different; Teresa’s approach to her impending maternity is joyful, confident, sexy. Kate, on the other hand, is full of doubts and unsure whether she’s ready to become a mother.

The two ladies begin to form a bond and organize a dinner party with their husbands. As Teresa’s husband Jon (David Morrissey) and Justin have nothing in common, dinner turns out to be far from pleasant, ending with a life changing accident.

The Ones Below is a beautifully shot, intimate movie with a perfectly paced narrative and strong and minimalist dialogues that move the story forward unpredictably.

With outstanding performances by David Morrisey, Clemence Poesy, Laura Birn and Stephen Campbell Moore, David Farr’s debut feature film is an unnerving psychological thriller, which is simply hauntingly disturbing and addictive. I loved The Ones Below so much I can’t help but describe it as a must see, hair-raising masterpiece.

Essentially the story of a middle-aged couple working in a tearoom and their far-fetched scheme to serve much more than a slice of cake, Tea for Two has been written and directed by Mark Brennan of Pork Chop Pictures in collaboration with Mini Productions and produced thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.

Acclaimed royal cake designer Fiona Cairns features as executive producer and her creations are proudly displayed on the counter of this retro Hertfordshire cake parlour.

“Today’s the day”, says Alice (Amanda Barrie of Bad Girls and Coronation Street) to Jim (John Challis of Only Fool and Horses and Doctor Who) as a remarkably noisy clock ticks away. The place is empty and the couple are anxiously waiting for someone to arrive.

When the first male customer walks in, Jim gives him an unreasonably hard time, just because the young man is running behind his usual lunch schedule. Alice is not impressed by her husband’s behaviour as nothing must get in their plan’s way.

Despite numerous threats to highjack their conspiracy, the pair’s astute yet clumsy ways eventually manage to achieve their goals, while entertaining the viewer with their remarkably mysterious and unorthodox ways.

Tea for Two is a brilliantly executed, quirky and uniquely British short comedy with timely, subtle twists and a retro feel that will leave you wanting more.

Tea for Two premiered last May, and has been screened at various events in the UK, including the BAFTA qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival, the Winchester Short Film Festival and, most recently, the uFilmFest in Ukraine.

Watch Tea for Two’s trailer here: