Share
Clip description
Chris’s guests have arrived. Owen (Stuart Clark) is still there and has invited himself to join the clan gathering at the dining table. He rhetorically asks Dave (Syd Brisbane), the boyfriend of Chris’s ex, whether they know each other. Dave denies it. Chris (Richard Green) and Owen walk outside where Owen tells him that Dave is a paedophile.
Curator’s notes
There’s already tension around the table. Owen’s unwelcome presence hovers over the gathering like a bad smell. But the mood becomes even more fraught when Owen pushes Dave, initially saying he thought he worked with children (a sinister dig, as we will see in a minute) and then insisting that he knows him. When Owen tells Chris outside that Dave is a pedophile whom he recognises from prison, and suggests putting Dave and his girlfriend in his car boot, the already intense drama shifts into an even higher gear. Owen’s accusation sets the course of what follows.
Note the unconventional way in which the dining table exchange is filmed. When Owen goads Dave about knowing him, the camera concentrates on Owen. By definition, using long takes means eschewing a conventional shot-reverse shot format for conversation. By allowing for greater spontaneity in the performances, Stenders limits his possibilities for camera placement. This does not prove a weakness. By concentrating on Owen (instead of panning to Dave’s reaction), the intensity of the moment is unbroken.
