The Perfect Stranger

Directed by Jack Davies

2024

Door Stop Films

This week we take a look at a new romantic comedy from Jack Davies, a young filmmaker at De Montfort University. Directed in his spare time during studies, Jack had support from a small team and “a very low budget” to create a short that follows characters Steph and Kara through the early stages of a relationship.

The director uses a library for his meet-cute - a good location that reflects the search for meaning when trying to create some friendly rapport with a new person.

Kara struggles on a computer but receives some help from a student called Steph, a man who ultimately realises that it’s not plugged in. What is “plugged in” though is their instant connection.

A joke about Steph’s name (his mother wanted a girl) lightens the mood, and we get a bit of banter before cutting to Leicester’s Town Hall square where we see them enjoying time together. This is followed by a mini-musical-montage of the couple having good times at a coffee shop as seen in the best rom-coms over the years.

And from embarrassing neck scratches to sharing headphones, the film establishes their bond with sensitivity and little private moments of human behaviour.

Technical wise, I enjoyed the oft-moving camera moves. Low budget shorts have a tendency to stick cameras on tripods for every shot, whereas here the ‘floating’ camera provides a slice of life feel. It also adds much-needed energy too. And for those early on in their careers, check Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson films where the camera barely stays still at all!

The sound mix could do with another pass. There’s some background buzz between cuts - a bit of room tone would even things out but, to be fair, maybe difficult for a library as there’s probably not much background noise in the first place. A small (and personal) preference would be to re-name the film which I found a bit unimaginative given the many positives contained within.

The film however does attempt to use images rather than dialogue to show how they are (literally) stepping closer to each other, and the quirky interactions between two strangers are handled well.

Is he introverted or suffering personally? We’re never given a lot of info, but the film moves the couple quickly back to a place of love as things come full circle.

Overall, despite a few tweaks technically, this student film provides a strong basis for the future with an understanding of the beats of the genre, combined with an energetic shooting style. Often using music as the connective centre of the relationship, it shows how understanding (and some well-established headphones) can bring people together.

★★★

3 / 5

Mike Sales