The Black Hole - a simple tale of morality (Film Review)

THE BLACK HOLE (2008)

Director: Olly and Phil

Cast: Napoleon Rayn

Genre: Dark-comedy 

Run-time: 2 mins 49 seconds 

(screenshot from the short film)

The Black Hole is a short film, directed by Olly Williams and Phil Sampson, released in the year 2008 by Future Shorts. This film starring just one actor, Napoleon Rayn, typically portrays greed and temptation from a humorous point of view.

The film follows the fairy-tale journey of how a sleep-deprived, lowly office worker discovers a portable portal- 'the black hole', and what he does with it. This film with a run-time of less than 3 minutes and not a single dialouge, successfully captures one of the seven deadly sins, Avarice or Greed.

It starts off by showing a tired office worker copying documents from a photocopy machine, when it jams and he punches the buttons and kicks the machine. The photocopier releases a piece of paper with a black circle at the middle. The man eventually discovers that it was not an ordinary paper, but a portal. Without questioning or wondering much about the mysterious object, he starts using the paper to his advantage. The greedy employee starts using the object to gradually fulfill bigger wants, which ultimately brings him to a tragic ending. Like at first, he takes out a chocolate bar out of the vending machine by creating a void in the glass, but it takes him mere seconds to go for something much more than just a chocolate bar. The size of the black hole getting bigger everytime he used it for something symbolizes how his greed also grew until it had the ability to 'consume him whole'. 

The cinematography largely helps to convey the main character's feelings through the screen. The movie has a colour pallette of a dull blue and gray, which helps transmit the office worker's emotional state and his dull and repetitive job, as does his initial performance, in which he looks so lifeless and bored. The excitement is brought about by the discovery of the supernatural element, which leads the main character to become more energetic and expressive. Close-ups are employed frequently to express the emotional changes of the character. Sound has also been used effectively in this film. It has been used for an expressive effect. The rhythm picks up it pace as the film approaches its climax.

The storyline is simple and very easy to understand, as is the message delivered through it. The one element that makes the movie scary to some extent is how relatable the character is. Most people in his position would do exactly what he did. The plot moves quickly so the viewers wont get bored. One of the best and most imaginative shorts, you might want to watch this film again and again. Definitely recommend for a quick watch!