Always Crashing in the Same Car (2007)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Duncan Wellaway

Writer:

Duncan Wellaway (writer)

Genre:

Short | Drama

Tagline:

A wrong turn in the middle of the night tips the balance of power between two influential men in a way that will affect their relationship forever.

Cast

Richard E. Grant	...	James Booth
Paul McGann	...	Bill Mackinnon
Susannah Harker	...	Mary Booth
Aki Papacosta	...	Daniel Segal
Helen Barford	...	Angela Kotowicz
Peter Brad-Leigh	...	John
Penelope Granycome	...	Connie
Isher Edgeler	...	Minister
Mike Henley	...	Minister
Jonathan Hansler	...	Minister
Anthony James Berowne	...	Minister
Nick Ewans	...	Minister
Guy Henderson	...	Minister
Peter Rnic	...	Driver
Kevin Sweeney	...	Driver

Runtime:

UK:12 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Handmade Films

A solid short film that is a bit sudden at the end but has great atmosphere and delivery across the board

James Booth is pushing for a decision that he believes would realise millions of revenue they are currently missing. It is late at night and the discussions have gone on too long. He is confronted by a calm and confident Bill Mackinnon, a man with whom he has a history. Booth loses it with his confrontation and storms out of the meeting, so angry that he dismisses his driver and aggressively takes to the roads himself. With the anger and resentment still fresh, something happens that affect the relationship of the two men forever.

Much was made of this short film mainly because it achieved the coup of putting the two stars of Withnail & I back onto the screen together again. For whatever reason Withnail had been their only pairing so far and I think that director Wellaway was overjoyed and surprised to get them both involved. Beyond this hook though, what is there to get excited about? Well, the film itself is a simple tale that starts once Booth has hit a homeless woman and ends up forced to turn to Mackinnon for help in clearing it up and protecting his high powered job. The point of the film comes at the end when the nature of Booth's job is revealed and the closing caption poses a sobering and depressing question. This is the point of the film and it does rather hit it then get out quickly, which made me feel like the point of the film hadn't had much time spent on it while the relationship between the two men had seemed to be the focal point.

This was a minor issue for me comparatively though because up till this point I had been held by the story of the two men. This part of the short film is delivered professionally and with a really enjoyable tension in the air. The two men are in separate places for the film (apart from the meeting at the start) but you can taste the power struggle that occurs between them. It holds more context and meaning once the reveal has occurred but regardless it is still very well done. Wellaway delivers his own script with an assured hand and the film looks as good as it feels – with power and desire for power seeping out of many scenes.

It is not a perfect film in terms of narrative but otherwise it is very well done and engaged me throughout. The reveal at the end did feel all a bit too sudden but it strengthened what had gone before, making the film better as a result, even if it affected what I thought the focus was going to be.