Amidst the usual e-mails for cheap pills, and other dubious offers, I received a request from someone who wondered if they could ‘borrow’ my little van for a film they were making. After I had read the script and deciding it was legit, I agreed.
Almost is a 26 minute comedy commissioned by the Fondation, Vevey Ville d'Images 04; Grand prix européen des premiers films competition.
’Almost’ is an account of the last decade in the life of Tom, Catherine, Frank and Dian, 30 year-old friends who grew up together in Maidenhead. It charts their failures, nervous break-downs, embarrassments and petty triumphs.
‘Almost’ is a comedy about our relationship with space- both physical and social.
The characters constantly feel ‘out of place’ and are ‘looking for their place’. Where should they be? What are they to do with the rest of their lives? Do you become something by simply acting it out in public? And if so – what’s underneath the role we play with our friends, colleagues and families? Should there be anything at all? Must one find oneself? And where is one to look?
The characters are all confused, nervous and frustrated, and I intend to show this by stepping back, away from the place from where the stakes seem high. Such emotional distance from the characters’ crisis will provide a new, wider perspective.
The film is a re-prioritized un-chronological account in which the characters’ own statements and beliefs are being examined. What appeared to have mattered, the things that made them sad or strong or arrogant, all feel suspiciously stale taken out of chronological context. This structure ignores to an extent the requirements of the ‘plot’.
