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★★★★
Directed by: #DeclanCurran
Written by: #DeclanCurran
Starring: #DeclanCurran, #SandraBrown, #JohnMcIlail, #RosamundMonteith
Nick, the only son on his family’s farm, aspires to be more than his traditional roots but lacks the confidence in expressing his ambitions to his family and friends.
Shine (2021) is a short eighteen minute drama filmed in Bright, Northern Ireland and has won numerous awards, including First Time Filmmaker at Cannes World Film Festival and Best Acting Debut for Declan Curran and Best Actor in a Short Film for John McIlmail. The film tells an uplifting tale of a young man restricted by his upbringing to branch out and follow his dreams and break into show business.
The short exhibits sharp, crisp cinematography in the beautiful picturesque filming location in the fields amongst the livestock. We meet Nick in the opening shot as we slowly zoom out as he speaks about moving on to better things, which cuts to the herd of cows he has been addressing and effectively establishing the current life he leads as the farmer’s son. This is then followed by a satisfying montage of Nick going about his farming duties with his loyal collie, Sally, bolstered by a positive, energetic guitar piece playing in the soundtrack.
Director, writer and star Declan Curran makes a strong impression both behind and in front of the camera, giving a sincere endearing performance as our young lead with a bright look in his eye. We learn how he secretly desires to become an actor, but fears how his hidden desires may disgrace his traditional family and friends. The short includes realistic and charming supporting characters to add gravitas to Curran’s themes of duty contrasted with desire, with one of Nick’s friends from work expressing his wish to open up a bistro and learn to cook, which the other laughs off as unrealistic.
Nick’s father, Johnny (McIlail), whose reward for his performance is particularly impressive considering he has very little screen time, also represents the devil on Nick’s shoulder. He is a pessimistic presence in the film, deep set in his ways and becomes easily irritated when his son is not present to help on the farm, whereas Nick’s mother Maggie (Brown), represents the silver lining as she is secretly thrilled for her son when he leaves one morning to attend a casting call, clearly supporting his dreams.
A great supporting character, Bernie (Monteith), who Nick meets in the local church, bestows a few words of wisdom from an ageing woman who never could follow her ambitions and acts as the catalyst for Nick’s decision to leave. The underlying message of anyone being able to follow their dreams if they put their mind to it and take a leap of faith is both heartfelt and touching, if perhaps a tad impractical.
There are a few noticeable editing errors in the short which do distract, but not enough to affect the positive tone and message. In earlier shots, there is a slightly unnatural hazy glow to the sunrise coming through kitchen windows and appears a bit oversaturated, although this could genuinely be the way sunlight appears in Ireland. A later shot can be forgiven for difficulty in capturing dogs at the right moment, but a clear reverse shot presents Sally looking up to Maggie once Nick has left, which was clearly reversed to have the desired emotional outcome. Although these mistakes are noticeable, they are only minor inconsistencies in an otherwise solid film.
Overall, Shine is an inspiring short with a hopeful message for those facing barriers in their efforts to follow their dreams and displays nice direction, with a terrific cast of characters. Hopefully Nick passes his audition!
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