Opening with a moment of crippled intimacy between a young couple, Selfie tells the story of a young woman (Jasmine Breinburg) who finds herself on the wrong end of betrayal.
Within the first few seconds of this 7 minute short film, it is clear that the woman has just turned her boyfriend (Thomas Law) down after a sexual advance. She is visibly distressed by what occurred, indicating that he may not have taken it so well at first. Though, in the moment the viewer is brought into their world, the boyfriend is trying to patch things up by showing a level of understanding about her hesitations.
The boyfriend leaves for the afternoon, but later on in the day the two exchange text messages that bring a smile to the girl’s face, indicating that they’ve made up. Immediately after this interaction, the young woman decides to show her beau a little sexual affection by taking a topless photo of herself and sending it to him. While her intentions are innocent, her boyfriend’s are very questionable, as he betrays her trust by sharing her photo on a voyeur website.
Written and directed by Ben A. Williams, Selfie is a companion piece to Stephen Fingleton’s short film S.L.R. (S.L.R. review). There’s a lot of connective tissue between Selfie and S.L.R., something of which gives the world contained within the two shorts a feeling that is both confined and vast. Furthermore, the way Selfie and S.L.R. intertwine with one another makes the voyeuristic elements coursing through both films all the more unnerving.
Like S.L.R., Selfie is an exceptionally made short film. There’s a slight haze and slow flowing dreamlike quality to the Selfie that exudes a tangible feeling of tranquility, something of which comes in stark contrast to the very dark undercurrents contained within the film. What’s most impressive, though, is that this is all done in only 7 minutes.
I highly recommend watching both S.L.R. and Selfie, and in that order. Both are truly impressive short movies that receive nothing but the highest marks from myself.
