Slap by Nick Rowland

Masculinity is the key theme explored in this BAFATA nominated short film, and with a fairly long running time in comparison to other short films watched in class, there is noticeably much more character development seen in Nick Rowland's Slap. The narrative is centered around Joe Cole's character, a teenage boxer who struggles to hide his love for drag from his friends and girlfriend. I I think the story is a very unique one that captures the attention of viewers due to its deep exploration of masculinity. One shot that does this very well in Slap is one that reoccurs throughout the film. the protagonist is framed as he gazes into his bedroom mirror, motionless as if trying to figure out who he is and it is a simple but powerful shot that illustrates the themes this short film explores in depth.One of the first things that I picked up on in this short film was the diversity of the types of characters depicted in Slap, and the depth at which they are developed. In my opinion this is partly due to the overall run time of Slap being fairly long, allowing many events to transpire in which we learn more about the characters. As a result, the characters are more believable and the strong performances of actors such as Elliot Tittensor who players the gay friend of the main character are able to shine through which blends with the deep exploration of masculinity to provide a thoroughly intriguing short film.