FRIENDS LIKE THESE – A Short Film By Jason Figgis

Friends Like These (2011)
Directed by: Jason Figgis
Written by: Jason Figgis
Starring: Bernadette Manton, Laura Way

Friends Like These
Written and directed by Jason Figgis
Produced by Jonathan Figgis

[vimeo width=”500″ height=”369″]https://vimeo.com/27451566[/vimeo]

Friends Like These is a 9 minute short film, written and directed by Railway Children director, Jason Figgis.

The short opens with a dying, injured woman named Jane (Laura Way) on the floor of a stinking, dilapidated house, being comforted by her best friend, Grace (Bernadette Manton), who’s doing everything she can to keep Jane alive. Flashbacks are woven into the story and as the short plays out, we find out just how Jane suffered the fatal stomach wound.

The cracks in Grace’s psyche are apparent right from the start. As Jane tells Grace about her new job and about relocating away from their current town, Grace frowns with both jealousy and anger of being deserted by the one person who should be by her side. Jane is clearly independent and appears to be growing tired of her childhood friend’s suffocating, clingy ways, but even she couldn’t have predicted what an enraged, obsessed friend could be capable of.

As with Railway Children, Friends Like These is a beatifully shot piece of film and is complimented by the gentle music of acclaimed musician, Moby. The peaceful steady shots panning across the stunning farm, depicting the calm before the storm, are stark in contrast to the shots of the dingy, grubby house in which the two women end up in. The environments suitable match the on-screen story and add extra depth to the tale.

Friends Like These is an inspiring effort and I look forward to seeing actress Bernadette Manton in Figgis’ upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol.