Forever Love

Oh dear, I feel bad. Neil Rolland is a “writer, director and all-round good guy” according to the credits of this short and I’m going to be a bit harsh. Sorry, Neil, I’m sure you are a nice guy and I hope you’ll believe me when I say, I am too… but I really didn’t enjoy your short.

A man is making breakfast for his other half – who is a bloke, not that it matters. But all isn’t as it seems. I won’t spoil what little plot there is here, although you may well guess the essence from the title. If not, you’ll be sure to spot what’s going on within about 30 seconds. That’s not good, it’s just predictable.

For this short to work would require an emotional depth of acting which just isn’t on show here from Fraser Johnston and Marius Smuts. Rolland’s film feels like it wants to be edgy and tackle big issues – perhaps why, despite originally advertising for a guy and a gal to star in this short he ultimately chose two blokes. Good intentions aren’t enough, however, and trying to add some sort of imagined ‘shock’ value like this is a weak way of attempting to create dramatic effect. Unfortunately this is little more than a rake over old ground.