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Anywhere but Here
UnitedKingdom 2016
Director:Jack Woods
Reviewed by J. R. Woods
A cold autumnday a MIDDLEAGED MAN is in his gardendigging up a flower andputting it in a bag.He
then puts it on a walland fills in the holewith soil.He thengoes andgets a bird-table andputs iton top
of the spot theirusedto bea flower. Hethen walks in thehouse andgives theflower toa YOUNG GIRL.
He then says something to her and walks out oftheroom closing thedoor behind him.
The young girl is dressed upwarm andwalks away from the house. Shethen walks out of the garden
and down the pavementto a derelict patch ofgrass.After looking at the patch ofgrass for a while, she
decides itbestnot toplantin there. Shethen walks toa localchildren’s parkandstarts trying tofind a
place to planttheflower.After a ballflies pastherand nearly hits the spot she was looking to plantthe
flower in. Shedecides tomovetheflowerto a safer place.
She goes to a forest anddecides totake a reston a log. A COMMUNITYOFFENDER is picking up rubbish
in the background witha brightgreen vest on anda black bag. After a small amountoftime hesits on
the log and tries to seewhat thegirls holding. He then opens inhis rubbish bag and takes out several
grubby toys. Hethen shows them tothegirland lays themon thefloor. Shepicks up a dog toyand he
gently tries to taketheflower but shedrops thedog and pulls theflower closer. Hethen picks thedog.
He then lays thedog on the floor andtakes a stepback. Shegoes andlays thefloweron theground
before picking the dog, thengoes and sits back on the log. Hegoes totheflower andpicks it upunder
her watchful eye.He thenbends down and plants theflower ina littleholehe makes then smiles atthe
girl and walks off. The girl thenwaits for a littlewhileand gets upand walks in theoppositedirection.
The YoungAdult, Lewis Woods, stepping away
from the tenseencounter withthe YoungGirl,
Amber Clough.
Directed by Production Beacon Media Cast
Jack Woods Designer Productions Amber Clough
Written by Jack Woods In association Young Girl
Jack Woods Music with Lewis Woods
Director of Composer JRW Films Community
Photography Jack Woods and Offender
Jack Woods Make-up Realwatch Alan Woods
Edited by Design Entertainment Middle aged
Jack Woods Claire Clough man
makes a link withthe young
girl throughthe toys he offers
and the flower he plants. The
Most Beautiful Maninthe
World the connectionisn’t
reallythere’s just a brief
interactionthroughliving
creatures like the pet dog and
the bug. The film has great
cinematographyas wellas a
4:3 aspect ratio to make it feel
more innocent. We see this
film fromthe girl’s point of
view, this is verysignificant as
she is the protagonist, this
contributes to the tension
because we are ableto feel
her love for the flower within
the plot and it emanates to the
viewer through the
performance. This amplifies
the anxietyand pressure of
the piece because she trusts
the communityoffender with
the flower whereas we have
no indication ofwhat he is
going to dowithit. After the
communityoffender plants
the flower, I foundmyself
sighing a breathof relief. This
is because there was too much
tensionbuilt up inthe scene. It
was a verygood structure to
the film andthe climax felt
very rewarding, but I felt that
onlyafter the endwhenhe
picks his bagup and walks
away. When we see the last
shot of the flower plantedin
the ground, we feelrelief
because the girl is able to be
happythat the flower is safe
and it is in a place that it can
stayfor the rest of its life. This
film in the endis quite heart-
warming andthisis an
enjoyable piece offilm.
This is a film made bydirector, Jack Woods, straight
from the set of Redemption, his new short filmtakes
place in the suburbs of London. Nature is under threat
and a Young girl is on a missionto helpa flower. As
innocent as this tale is, there is a lot oftension within
the plot whenLewis Woods, playing a youth
communityoffender, he approaches the girl curiously,
and this causes tensionfor the crowd. Amber Clough
gives a solid performance as the Young girl in the piece.
In her film debut, she puts ina strong performance as
the wordless girl, travelling around we see moving
aroundthe place witha mixture of enjoyment, curiosity
and worryall showitself to her expression. The films
locationalso attributedto the wayemotion is felt
about the actor, since it is a youngfemale who is alone
in a forest witha potentiallydangerous person, it
makes the audience feel uneasy. This film highlights the
importance of teaching your childrenabout stranger
danger as the Young girl goes through a journey,
searching for a place to plant her flower whilst also
coming across placesthat she is unable to plant her
flower, however thisstops whenshe finds a place, the
narrative is thencentredaroundthis place marking the
end of her journey. The piece also challengesother key
issues suchas environmental issues and how much
people care about the greenery. It triesto highlight a
lot of issues withinthe piece without feeling packed
and bloated withthem. Altogether this is a solidpiece
of cinematography, with standout performances from
the two mainactors, Lewis Woods and Amber Clough.
The direction and cameraworkis verywell
choreographed. The piece brings to life a worst case
scenario, creating tension while leaving you onthe
edge of your seat throughout the whole encounter. It
then delivers anendingof maturityand catharsis by
allowing the characters to wordlesslyendthe
interactionincomplete innocence. Jack Woods’ new
film hasa definitive linkto the 2002 film, The Most
Beautiful Maninthe WorldbyAlicia Duffy, this comes
from the uneasymeeting of a thirdparty. However
there are clear differences between the two. The first
being the people themselves the offender inJack
Woods’ film
