Tick Where it Hurts is a short filmed created by Bertie Gilbert in 2014. It follows a troubled musician called Guy who is trying to cope with his brother/musical partner who’s called Eric committing suicide and for me personally it’s my favourite short film I’ve ever seen. With a run time of 18 minutes it’s quite long for a short film but it doesn’t feel long at any point because of how well paced it is and it never dwells on one scene for too long. The cinematography is done by a man called Ciaran O’Brien and he does a fantastic job of creating this lonely and depressing atmosphere.
The main character is played by the director and he does a fantastic job of portraying his mentally ill character. All acting in the film is done extremely well and although there are only two people ever shown on screen both the characters are very believable. Throughout the film there are flashback sequences which give a lot of context as to how the relationship was between Guy and Eric. They also help establish that Guy isn’t a very emotionally stable person and that he can’t handle negative things said about him and obviously this is a big problem if you’re a musician. There’s also some shots where the characters are talking straight to the audience, but not quite in a 4th wall breaking way but more of a vlog style and the audio of these shots also carry over as a voice over and a sort of narrator for the film.
The sound and music in this film is another incredible achievement. The sound created a sad and eerie feel to the film and when whats happening on screen is intense, the music matches with the visuals and becomes louder as well. There’s also a creative little animation at the start and end of the film which shows how happy you can be, even if something so terrible has happened.
But perhaps the most interesting thing I find about this film is how it portrays the person who’s friend has committed suicide. Because most films only deal with the suicidal character and everything is from their point of view but in this it’s the complete opposite. It shows the after effects of doing something like that and what impact it has on your close friends and family. At the end of the film, Guy realises that their is no logic in what Eric did and that he should try and continue his life and come to accept it. In conclusion, Tick Where it Hurts is not only just a short film, but also an emotional ride that everyone should take, even if it’s just once.
Horne's Thoughts 