A Glass House

Directed by Charles Strider

2025

Pelé Rocket Films

They say a cup of tea can solve everything. In Charles Strider’s debut short, A Glass House, it might not solve everything, but it can at least be the starting point for a conversation. This is a beautiful piece of work, shot on film in a 4:3 ratio, at a gorgeous location in King’s Norton, with a tight, naturalistic script that delves into difficulties around talking about our mental health.

It stars Lucy Wells as Robin, and Gary Beadle as her father-in-law Marcus, both of whom are left reeling by the sudden loss of Milo (played briefly in flashback by Doya Beardmore). Robin does her best to occupy herself in the garden – something that she admits was more Milo’s hobby than her own – while Marcus fruitlessly attempts to get her to talk to him.

Both leads give tremendous performances here. Where some actors would feel the need to add an element of dramatics, Wells and Beadle maintain just a little of that stiff-upper-lip that the film is attempting to crack. Both start the film trying to hold it together. To talk about anything other than Milo.

For Marcus, this is more paternal. Ignoring his own grief to try and provide support for Robin. Robin, on the other hand, tries to struggle through. Deal with the practicalities of losing her husband; get swallowed up by the tasks of day-to-day life. Strider’s script deals with this well, maintaining a level of ambiguity over Milo’s death, not to create tension or to maximise the impact, but to create a subtle cycle that the film intends to break.

We know that Milo took his own life, but we don’t know the reason. In fact, neither do Robin or Marcus. At the start of the film, both characters are continuing a cycle of silence that likely contributed to Milo’s own worsening mental health. Only in his grief does Marcus recognise that it’s important to discuss this. There’s also the subtle use of the garden to tell the wider story. Plants cannot grow if they are not pruned; they hold onto the past and are held back by it.

At 17 minutes long, this is a gut punch of a film, saying just enough to leave the audience reeling but never verging into heavy-handedness. It’s a stunning achievement that audiences should seek out, and one that says more in its brief running time than some films manage in 120 minutes.

★★★★½

4.5 / 5

Matthew Tilt

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The 6th of February is Time to Talk Day. A time for friends, families, communities and workplaces to come together to talk and listen. It is run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, in partnership with Co-op, and delivered by by See Me with SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), Inspire and Time to Change Wales. You can find out more at www.timetotalkday.co.uk

Check out the film's trailer  here