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★★★★ Directed by: Matt Nye Written by: Matt Nye Starring: Heidi Higgins, Victoria Fragnito Short Film Review by: Rachel Pullen
Hands up who has worked a crappy job? Be it in a bar, washing cars, cleaning bathrooms or retail in general [I have worked all of the above and retail is hell, consider that before your obsession with consumerism turns you into a dick at the checkout]. Now hands up who got out of that job and moved in to the world of the white-collar careers, with plush chairs, affairs with your secretary and air conditioning?
Probably a fair few of you moved on right, and there is nothing wrong with that, but what about those of us who didn’t? Those of us who still push and grind at the lowing paying, bad hours of the blue-collar jobs, what’s life like for all the people you pass by working the crappy jobs that you hate?
Server is an exploration into the life of a young woman who works as a waitress, telling her story through narration, as we view what her days are like in the small diner where she is employed. As you can expect there is nothing glamorous about her position, in fact it’s more extreme than we can envision just from being an observer.
She talks of the option to expose her body to up her tips from the truckers who frequent the joint, of her battles with her eating disorder as she is surrounded with fattening fried foods, to how she begs to work longer shifts if the tips have not been as good as she hoped during her previous stint.
Director Matt Nye is a pro at creating the atmosphere needed to allow this short to flourish. The bar is dimly lit, with that air of despair that comes from a roadside trucker joint, even viewing the environment she is in makes you feel greasy, real greasy, like you need to run some laps to burn off all that crappy food that you didn’t really eat, or take a shower…
Our leading lady has the look of someone who is trying to hold it together, the look on her face is one of sadness being hidden behind a smile, actress Heidi Higgins makes us feel a strong sense of empathy toward the character without engaging anyone else on screen.
We are fully immersed in this character, her problems are not immense, nothing grave happens to her, but the constant baragement of feeling unfulfilled is constant and pounding, and her sweet and innocent optimism makes you fall deeper into caring for her tale.
To have a short that is only 5 minutes long, make you feel such strong emotions for the character speaks for it quality and style.
This story, although not a work of great fantasy and tall tales, will suck you in, make you feel and remind all of those out there who have the white collar opportunities in life, to never take them for granted, and to remember, always tip your server.
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