Killing Thyme

This is a seriously sophisticated short film, executed with incredible detail in every department. The music perfectly matches the tone of the piece with certain instruments managing to capture the very traits of the characters they underscore. The accordion, which by its very nature sound flat, perfectly matched the under-energised, downbeat feel of the old man. The soundscape of trains, bicycle bells and railings are seamlessly woven into the score in a way that enriches the visual experience and set the scene with skilled efficacy. From the start the title cards suggest you are in for a visual treat with slick illustrations and quality art direction. The attention to detail in this respect is carried right through the piece with a colour palette that is measured and satisfying. The performances from all three leads really take this film up a notch and the filmmakers have struck gold by casting some of the best British talent around in Charlotte Riley and Brian Cox. And the young boy, played by Joe Reynolds, is such a star. This is a funny, tragic, tense, gripping, but above all incredibly heartwarming film... it's really got everything you could wish. This is top notch film-making. I cant recommend it highly enough!

*SPOILER ALERT* Killing Thyme takes a very heavy core question - is it ever okay to kill? - and packages it in a light and charming short. Art has been asking if murder can be justified for hundreds of years - it's the essential issue of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Just like that novel, 'No' is the answer that Killing Thyme arrives at, but rather than beating you over the head with hundreds of pages of moral teachings, it takes a look at the question through the eyes of a naïve and well-meaning little boy. This turns out to be a new and entertaining perspective on the issue. The allotment space is a bright oasis of green fertility in the middle of the concrete jungle, framed by sky-scrapers and train-lines. It feels like somewhere special and secluded where unusual things might happen - and indeed they do. This stubborn green force of vitality and growth amongst the dead grey glass and concrete comes to represent a more eternal struggle between life and death, hope and despair - all of the opposites that Sam and Norman stand for. When Sam finally convinces Norman to start nurturing his plants again, it's more than just gardening. Sam has convinced Norman that life is worth living and that is it worth bringing more life into this world. Child actors are infamously hard to find, let alone direct - with this in mind, Joe Reynold's convincing performance as a persistent gardening geek is impressive. Brain Cox is tailor-made for the role of depressed curmudgeon, and the script perhaps doesn't allow him to show off great range because even his warmer moments are offered begrudgingly. Charlotte Riley's performance as NHS employed single-mum is brilliant and very natural. Her affection for and patience with Sam is conveyed with remarkable brevity because - like all single mums in films - she constantly has to rush off to work. However the fact that she knows about Sam's visits to the allotment, and her bigger role in the final minutes of the film, reveal how much of a concerned and dedicated mother she is. Killing Thyme fulfils the purpose of any quality dark comedy - it takes bitter truths and makes them more palatable by adding comedic sugar. The happy ending of the film is undeniably sweet, but it is restrained enough that it doesn't get sickly sweet - Norman and Sam's future friendship is only hinted at.