Suspect

Directed by Ollie Killip

2024

Vision Tower Productions

Suspect is a new short drama from a group of students studying at Leicester’s De Montfort University who have created a 20-minute thriller as part of their graduation film.

The story opens with an introduction to Thomas (Tyler Astley), a police detective whose voiceover tells us how jaded he has become with police work and the tough cases he’s facing. After this brief preamble, Thomas heads into a police station and enters an interview room where a lady called Grace (Angelina Vancheri) is told her boyfriend is dead and their main suspect is currently her.

As someone who watches a lot of interrogation videos, a bit of rapport building before the police’s accusation could add a touch of realism as well as dramatic beat that turns the tables on the story. A small improvement in the script – which could do with a bit of polish too – would also help the opening exchange by omitting some of repeated questions. However, t’s understandable that a voiceover can provide a lot of information especially in the limited amount of time you get in a short film.

What is an improvement is the story construction. The film flashbacks to earlier moments and it is this structure that helps put events into a thought-provoking context, slowly revealing layers rather than an over-reliance on dialogue. And in one of these we witness Grace and her boyfriend Mika, played by Logan Grendon, are having a drink and a chat at a coffee shop.

The cinematography is more than solid as there are some great shots of Leicester (our own hometown) and weirdly, I used to live above the coffee shop seen in the film! The handheld camera style used is also a great way to add some energy to filming. And I am often surprised more low budget filmmakers don’t use this quite easy technique. As an example, watch Peter Jackson films to see how rarely he uses a static “grounded” camera.

As Mika succumbs to poison and stumbles on the street, Grace drags him back to her flat and starts to feel strange herself. We are then taken back to the interview once more and Grace starts to tell her side of the story, providing as she does some suggested explanations.

There are a few technical nit-picks such as a spending a bit more time on sound, but the use of interrogation footage adds variation to the shots and keeps the film visually appealing. A tighter edit, my most common bugbear, is probably just a subjective preference but some quicker back-and-forth could have provided something more akin to the intensity and stake-raising seen in the best interrogation scenes (e.g. The Dark Knight).

As Thomas’ voiceover explains how people are tracked and that “eyes are everywhere” in the modern age, the film delivers a final rug pull which throws a spanner into the expected narrative. Personally, I would have loved to have this a bit more drip-fed throughout. I went back to “stop and observe” but the person wasn’t in the previous scenes. As it is, it feels a bit like it came out of nowhere and this Dexter-style twist didn’t quite work for me.

One of the true standouts in Suspect though is the performance from Angelina Vancheri herself. A naturalist actor, Vancheri sells the role brilliantly and has a flair in front of the camera with a polished style that helps the portrayal of the character.

With everything being said, despite a few minor drawbacks here and there, Suspect shows a passionate team displaying their first-rate filmmaking skills to create an intriguing film with a solid mystery at its core. And I very much suspect the director, the cast and crew will use this as a great introduction to their combined talent in the future.

★★★★

4 / 5

Mike Sales