Having recently played at the Cannes' Short Film Corner, U.K. based Grindstone Films's 4-minute short film Late Request is currently getting ready for its film festival circuit run armed with positive feedback for the unique, nicely written short film. The Gold Award winning script at the 2015 British Screenwriters Awards centers around a man, Steve (Garry Manion), who is critically injured and trapped upside down in a crashed vehicle. When Nick (Melissa De Mol) arrives at the scene, she tries to keep Steve conscious until the air ambulance can arrive.

Late Request is an effective short film, though it might've been even more effective as a slightly more prolonged, character-driven short rather than the modestly twisty story that exists now. The two performers, De Mol and Mannion, perform quite ably but are hindered by the relatively slow-building script that never allows us to do anything but wait for the twisty resolution that we know is about to come.

Jude Peel's lensing is creative and helps to give the film a sense of build-up that is deceptive, while the film's overall presentation toys with our minds and our expectations before landing its final impact.

For more information on the film, check out the Grindstone Films website linked to in the credits on the left and be sure to check out the film if it lands at a festival near you.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic