Aneesa Wardle
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
Do I Need To?
First of all, I liked this short film. The acting was spot-on. In the first scene I really felt the angst and tension as the young friends walked out of the restaurant laughing; perhaps to themselves, perhaps about the main character, the uncertainty of it put me on edge and I could feel the main character felt this too; that sinking feeling of people laughing at you. I liked the attitude of the waitress. The act of asking a stranger to take a photo is a very innocent and almost vulnerable thing to do, and I liked the way it was portrayed in this film. I wasn't quite clear why the main character was in a rush and why the waitress emphasised to "take your time". But I had a light bulb moment when the title of the film came up after the scene cut to black. This was the main character's first night out presenting as a woman, an obviously nerve-wracking experience. The only qualm I have with this otherwise very nice short film is that the main actor is a man. Unfortunately, in this day and age, there is really no excuse for not hiring trans actresses for trans roles, and this could have had another layer of authenticity to it. So I am deducting one star for that, it could have been a good 7/10.
