CELL ADORE FILM FESTIVAL - The Drive

CELL ADORE FILM FEST

Finding happiness after a tragic event is a theme anyone can relate to. It is also a theme explored in The Drive, a short directed by Adam Thomas Wright and Tom Carty.

The film follows Dan, an only child coming to terms with the illness taking over his father. The two set off for a drive to a beach that Dan’s fathers reminisces about. This is shown through flashbacks of the two, when Dan was still a child; the flashbacks also reveal that Dan’s father suffers from dementia. Once they have reached the beach, it is understood that Dan’s father has passed, as he scatters his ashes across.

The short is very understated. Both lead performances have a quiet nature to them, and manage to do a lot of work with nothing but their eyes. The dad character is given the most material to work with, as he practically delivers all the dialogue in the film. The film is written by Wright, who also serves as editor, while Carty also works as photography director, and is the one who keeps the film looking colourful and bright.

The Drive is an understated and moving short that shows how promising is its directing duo, Adam Thomas Wright and Tom Carty. The lead performances help keep the film grounded, never leaning towards melodramatic.