Details

Category: The Note

THE NOTE

Director:  Ciaran Creagh

Year of Release:  2013

The note is a tale of a man (Gus) played by Aidan who is unemployed and spends his days drinking and walking the streets of Dublin with money he borrows from his elderly mother who he lives with.  He is clearly suffering from a childhood trauma stemming from an incident involving a note, details are sketched out following a trip to his old classroom although are not specified.  This appears to in some ways have contributed to the breakdown of his marriage and him having a son he barely knows. 

A lot of the narrative is implied rather than explained and the feeling of despair is conveyed in heart-breaking ways in the response of Gus’s mother to his depression and her attempts to encourage him to seek help. We also see in a flashback how the way he treated his wife and his interaction with his baby son led to the situation he now finds himself in.

The streets of Dublin in which this short film is played out adds an extra dimension to the story, it is almost a character in its own right. Shots of Gus drunkenly roaming the rain sodden streets, heighten the feeling of loneliness and despair.  

The note is my favourite of all the short films Aidan has made, although it is a rather depressing watch, the end does provide a slight hope that Gus will get the helps he needs. Aidan conveys much of the pain his character feels without words, which allows him some space to really act. A highly recommended short, this can be found on youtube HERE