Check Date

Directed by Declan Smith

2025



Filmed in the Disco Cup Café Nottingham, we take a look at Declan Smith’s disarmingly amusing bite-sized short, Check Date.

Check Date opens with a low-angle shot, reflecting Josh gazing attentively, almost affectionately at the game below, yet it is immediately apparent to us that his focus may not entirely be on his date sat across from him.

He battles between maintaining eye contact with the board and with Clotilde, his opponent for both the game and the date, as she competes for his attention against his true desire to beat her, something he may have met his match in.

Josh internally gloats at his process with every wrong move Clotilde makes, gaining more and more confidence move by move that he can triumph in the “date” as he refuses to be distracted by her seductive stare, something he sees as a pure tool to distract him from the ultimate ambition of victory.

However, Clotilde has been one step ahead the entire time and before Josh even realises, she has scooped his pieces off of the board and declared her victory, but there will be no handshake.

His blood boils at the sight of his failure. As his heart thumps against the wall of his chest, threatening to burst out and spill all over his date, it is the counters that propel against her as he flips the board to her shock, blowing any chance at a second date, and perhaps of more concern to Josh, of a rematch.

Even in the span of a micro-short with a sub-one minute duration, Smith has again displayed how much of an asset he is amidst the Midland’s filmmaking community, contributing a charmingly conceived simple narrative that does not outstay its welcome.

One of the pitfalls many first-time short filmmakers frequently fall into is the overcomplication of the narrative that frequently disrupts the production’s pacing. An over-indulgence in shot-craft and setup sometimes distract from what should always be the number one priority, the story.

Smith is wise to avoid this, establishing his parameters in media res to deliver only the information we need to know, that these characters are on a “date” and proceeds to show us exactly that.

From here, he establishes the perfect foundation for the plot to do the talking well, more specifically for Josh too. His charismatic voiceover comedically delivers his internal strategy to be victorious in the match, something Giuseppe Manzione’s facial delivery excellently operates in conjunction with.

In fact, both performers make the most of the extremely little opportunity for expressive acting a restrained script like this allows. Rebecca Metcalf Cortese similarly delivers compelling facial expressions to provide much personality to the piece, and befit the poker-face common within any first date or competitive encounter.

In terms of the technical qualities of this film, Smith’s variation of camera angles and strong invasive deployment of close-ups assist in creating an intimacy with both characters. And the board, intriguingly symbolises the three-way fight for attention the narrative is framed around.

But special mention also has to be paid to the sound quality; the subtle effects of the movement of the pieces and the thumping of Josh’s heart is not only key in executing the comedic beats of the film, but is also crisp and combines organically with the visuals.

Check Date delivers across the board on both the key filmmaking fundamentals and the narrative execution that optimises the short-film format. It demonstrates its digestible potential versus feature-length projects, telling a satisfying comedic encounter and leaving a lasting impression on its final frame.

★★★★

4 / 5

Josh Bird

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