Just A Girl

Directed by Kieran Freemantle

2023

One of the first things that viewers will notice when sitting down to watch Just a Girl, the new short from Kieran Freemantle, is how cleverly the writer and director uses the limited resources to build a full and complex world.

There’s the clever use of Hereford and Shropshire locales to fill in for the Shetland Isles, to the point where you won’t question the location at all. Then there’s the tightly packed script, placed almost solely on the shoulders of the two leads Lydia Fitzwilliams and Olly Bassi.

In just 20 minutes and with no visual effects to speak of, Freemantle develops a believable apocalyptic future. The simple setup and short runtime necessitate a certain amount of exposition but thanks to the naturalistic performances, it never feels like we’re being told, instead of shown, the story.

In the near future, women have been wiped out by a plague, leaving behind a violent and misogynistic world that treats the few survivors like commodities, to be sold, kept and taken. Fitzwilliams plays Katie, a teenage girl who has escaped a secret facility on the Shetland Isles focused on using young women to repopulate.

She’s found by Jack (Bassi) and his dog Hector, who live on an isolated farm near the facility. Reminded of his lost wife and daughter, Jack instigates a plan to get Katie back to the mainland.

While there’s a hint of suspicion between the two when they meet, Freemantle avoids the cliché of the gruff male hero, or a late-stage betrayal. Instead, Jack quickly falls back into a fatherly role, and goes to extreme lengths to protect Katie.

At just 20 minutes, there’s no resolution here. We’re left aware of the tough journey ahead, filled with a series of horrifying possibilities as laid out by Jack. In the best possible way, you’re left wanting more.

There’s clearly scope for a feature about what happens next, hopefully keeping the same moody, character-driven aesthetic instead of opting for an action-heavy extravaganza.

4/5

★★★★

Matthew Tilt

Twitter @Matthew_Tilt