7 Minutes is a heartfelt short that shows the importance of just having someone to talk to, even if that discussion is not the most comfortable. Ricky Gervais keeps his direction distant allowing the excellent script to do the talking.
Jim (Joe Wilkinson) is awkwardly contemplating suicide on a desolated train track, which seems like the perfect sport to end it all until Grace (Seroca Davis) turns up with the same idea.
7 minutes feels like a fly on the wall eavesdropping into a moment of two strangers’ lives; Gervais keeps the camera purposefully distant. Our two characters talk mostly away from each other but rarely keep eye contact with one another. Something Gervais mostly copies with side angles and when given a front angle, Grace continually stares just beyond the camera. It almost feels as if his direction is to put the audience in there with them. If someone at home is watching and lacking that vital connection that Jim and Grace can be their two surrogates, if even just for a few minutes. They found some form of positive connection from their interaction, so why can’t you, especially if you are in need of it?
There are great moments in 7 Minutes, Harry Carlile and Jonathan Parramint’s script that show the situation’s sheer awkwardness and how desperate Jim is to talk about what is going on in his head. He wants to talk about where he is in his life, like being up for a promotion that he eventually did not get. Whereas Grace is so pent up in her depression that she can’t or won’t share much other than how she does not have custody of her son.
You feel for both of them, lost in entirely different ways, that they were never able to find the right person to be that kind ear, to just listen to you wittering on. Just so you could get all of your negative thoughts out for just a few minutes. Or just have someone relate to your situation and show you that, rather simply, you are not alone. It’s emotionally charged and intelligent writing that is punctuated perfectly by the two performers.
Seroca Davos and Joe Wilkinson perform so well in 7 minutes, with Wilkinson carrying more of the comedic moments and Davos the dram. Wilkinson still does enough good work on the dramatic side for us to feel for him, even if he is an awkward soul. He laments the lateness of the trains and the strikes, and you immediately get who he is as a person. He is the guy who will chat away with you in the office or garden about nothing and everything. A man who just wants to feel that connection. Davos is far more stoic and resigned; she feels there is little else for her in this life, and her son will forget her and live a better life without her around; she is the one you fear the most.
7 Minutes is a very human tale, we all have our issues, and some take drastic measures (in our eyes) to rid themselves of whatever pain they are going through. The main thing is that a connection is there, however small or, in this instance, random. Having a connection or a moment with another person can change outcomes in ways you would never believe. This is an excellent short that knows when to keep it simple and when to bring in the odd chuckle, but most importantly, it never loses its heart.
★★★★
The 19th HollyShorts Film Festival is running between 10th – 20th August with in person and digital screenings available throughout.
For more information go to www.hollyshorts.com
Coverage of Hollyshorts Film Festival 2023:
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