Ours – Duration: 6.45 minutes
June Butler takes a look at Heather Grogan’s short film Ours, in which a young couple struggle to come to terms with an unexpected pregnancy and the impact it has on their relationship.
Ours is a short film written, produced and directed by Heather Grogan. Coming in at 6 minutes and 45 seconds, it has a tall order to fill yet does so unassumingly and with panache.
Before the characters are even seen, viewers are presented with an aural taste of what is to come as shrill voices argue and bicker while scenes come into focus. A young couple are expecting their first child. There is friction between the pair as stresses increase and tempers fray. Each accuses the other of various transgressions, adding to their fiery exchange with rash statements intended to inflict pain.
Mornings are set aside for effusive apologies, supplanted by evenings replete with rage. The cycle of bluster and irritation rolls on with inexorable frenzy as Tadhg Devery (Jason) and Susie Redmond (Melissa) deliver the finest and most arresting of performances along with some arresting images from Diarmuid Long as director of photography.
When the tale reaches its final moments, what was once alone comes together, as ‘mine’ evolves into ‘Ours’ – in the end, love is the only thing that matters.
