Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"A Gun for George" is a 17.5-minute live action short film from 2011, so this one had its 5th anniversary last year. It is perhaps the most known work by writer, director and lead actor Matthew Holness and there are quite a few good things in here. I think Holness did a good job acting and directing. The film reminds me a bit of crime films starring Gene Hackman from the 1970s, so there is some nostalgia too it and it does not ring false or feel fake. Holness' lead performance is also on a good level. But sadly, the one here that never made a difference to me here is the story. Perhaps letting somebody else he be in charge of the script would have been the wiser decision. The general premise isn't bad, this is a story about a struggling writer who loses more and more grip to reality and keeps assuming he is a character from one of his works and when he gets ahold of a gun, the situation is not exactly less complicated or threatening. So yeah I must say for me this little British film did not make an impact, neither as a drama, nor as a character study, nor as a dark comedy, which is why I would not be curious about a full feature adaptation if they (i.e. Holness) ever decides to make one. Thumbs down. One component buries an otherwise fine work.
