Rounding off our London Film Festival coverage are two (and a bit) shorts, all made with the support of Film London.
How Much For My Brother?
Enjoyably obnoxious 10-year-old Oscar (Joseph H. King) is sick of his younger brother Jacob (James Foster) ruining his life. Looking like a future candidate for the Young Conservatives, Oscar’s precocious as anything, and it’s evident that his parents don’t understand the burden he has to put up with as they dismiss his concerns while barely looking away from the TV. So Oscar takes matters into his own hands to rid himself of the six-year-old menace (who is adorable in his sun hat and Che Guevara t-shirt).
So far, so charming and while it does toy with slipping into saccharine the film plays with a darker side too. Writer and director Joe Tucker has created a fun and humorous story about brotherly love that had me double-take twice. Not bad for quarter of an hour’s watching.
Jimmy Will Play
Masooma (Iqra Naz Rizwan) is a cash-strapped single mother whose son Jimmy (Rayaan Ali) desperately wants a new pair of boots ahead of football team trials. It’s a pantomime of a tale, the tropes familiar to anyone watching but the novelty comes from the way Masooma sets out to make money to afford the boots: a scheme that’s played out in an amusing, and wince-inducing montage.
Mawaan Rizwan has made a pleasant film with a strong sense of place, and Masooma evokes real sympathy but really, if Jimmy is so passionate about football, you feel he could make do with less expensive footwear when their meals consist of margarine and sugar.
Rule Number Three
Due to some technical issues, I only managed to see about three minutes of Rule Number Three, which was disappointing because what I did see, I was intrigued by. Nicholas Hoult and Imogen Poots are a couple communicating through their game of Scrabble. The first few minutes were funny and I got cut off at a cliffhanger, so if someone can let me know how the full 11 minutes plays out, that’d be great.
Mild Concern 