After familiar establishing shots, unintelligible dialogue plunges viewers into disorientation. If cinema is about innovative communication of narrative through visuals and audio, Skwerl’s script of English jumbled with nonsense is a triumph.

Even the opening’s realism is threaded into the conceit: lines which are spoken slowly contain more real English words, and are therefore slightly closer to comprehensible, yet when the argument gains momentum speech is faster and includes more neologisms.

Despite its originality, the idea would be nothing without its skilled leads who suggest a wide variety of utterances by accurately capturing the tones and rhythms of English speech.

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INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Brian Fairbairn

WRITTEN BY: Karl Eccleston, Brian Fairbairn

CAST: Karl Eccleston, Fiona Pepper

SYNOPSIS: A couple’s celebratory meal rapidly descends into argument.