Wasp

I think this short film is amazing. This is because of its naturalistic approach to filming and how the characters are portrayed in a very realistic style. I really feel for the character of Zoe. She is obviously desperate and you can see this in the scene where she dances with her kids to keep them happy outside the pub. Also, where she gives the children sugar.. to stop them from moaning and also partly because all she has in the house is mouldy bread. When the children pick the food off the floor is the most sad scene in a movie ever. You can see why she does what she does, and it shows a real portrayal of how some people live and how desperate they are for help.. :)

The winner for best short film at the 2005 Oscars,this well-made,gritty and honest film seems to me to have a very ambivalent attitude towards it's main character Zoe(convincingly played by Nathalie Press).

A single mother living on a grim council estate,she's prepared to scrap with a woman who attacked her kids by going to her house dressed merely in a nightie,then uses the most foul,gutter language in front of them(all pre-teen).Capable of behaving like an sweet angel one minute,and a gross harridan the next,she attempts to have some fun with a sympathetic suitor(Danny Dyer),but with no partner or babysitter in sight this is doomed to failure,with dire consequences for her children,left outside a pub.

The film charts the difficulties that such women face(or perhaps bring on themselves),and the subject of social services is frequently brought up.But is there a happy ending in store with the would-be suitor? The film will probably have different interpretations by Social Libreals and Right-Wing Fundamental Moralists because of this ambivalence.Despite it's undoubted quality,Laurel & Hardy's THE MUSIC BOX(1932),is still the best short ever awarded the Oscar for me!

This really is an extraordinary and exceptional film. Gritty, real, touching and also incredibly tense and full of suspense. The free flowing nature of the camera-work adds to the already vivid realism, almost docudrama style. As a viewer you are drawn into this impoverished and deprived world, you feel immediate empathy for the central character in her desperate situation. She shows warmth, love and humanity to her children side by side with an appalling judgement about their well-being and safety. She is wonderfully contrasting yet totally believable and genuine.

It's a true eye opener of a film. Certainly one of the best short films I have ever seen. Worth going out of your way too see.

Such a beautifully made film, raw and gutsy. The strength of the film lies within the actors, writers and directors portrayal of the characters. This is life or at least a part of it as seen from the perspective of the third person, a keyhole glimpse into a small part of life of a young mother. The film is so real it is unnervingly real. I'm not going to give away any spoilers but it is a must to watch. If you liked other contemporary British films such as Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Kes, Poor Cow, A Taste of Honey, Sweet Sixteen, Cathy Come Home and Angela's Ashes, then your going to love this. Yes this is one for my collection if and when it comes out on DVD. 10/10.

Zoë is a single mum with four kids living on a council estate. Things are rough for the family, with little money to spend on basics such as food and the like although Zoë doesn't really help herself by what she does. Asked out to the pub by Dave, Zoë has to try a place for her kids so she can meet him up.

Perhaps not worthy of the status of being an Oscar winner this is still an interesting and well-made film. Another reviewer on this site has commented that the film can probably be interpreted to suit your politic leaning but I thought that was actually a good aspect of it because it is so ambiguous. Is Zoe a victim of her surroundings or is she just a selfish, council-estate chav? On the surface it is an easy question to answer but, although I did lean towards the latter, the film did make me think about her situation, her poor options and the depressing future that her kids have in front of them. The inability to come down on either side of the fence does take away from the film a bit but I found that the thoughts it gave me covered for it; although I can also see why it would the subject would bother some viewers – after all, are we really expected to be engaged by a lead character that we would move cities to avoid? Press plays her well regardless though. She is totally convincing and deserves credit for being so natural and not allowing the sentimental leaning of the script to turn her into a sympathetic character. Dyer is a good face to have involved and is his usual good value in a wide boy character. The kids are very good and are the heart of the film, delivering depressingly natural depictions of council estate kids – f**ked from birth.

Overall this is an uneven film that will be taken different ways by different viewers but will likely bother many with its forgiving look at a real piece of white trash. However it is still thought provoking and that makes it worth seeing along with very good direction and generally strong performances.