Big Man

Directed by Chi Lam

2024

Five Pence Productions & Chi Lam Pictures

A new Midlands short comes courtesy of prolific local filmmaking production company Five Pence Productions who in tandem with Chi Lam release a new 5-minute film about a young man spinning a yarn.

We open with a mother and child visiting a school and speaking to a teacher who asks a boy who is sporting a huge black eye how he came to receive it.

The young man begins his tale and the filmmaker cuts to the story he’s describing, where he says he was at school and a “big man” (played by an adult) was in his classroom. And despite throwing some paper at him - who is described as wearing a school uniform strangely - he ignores the child's antics.

The boy’s story continues as he stops the humongous gent to ask him why he is there, but again receives no answer. And swiftly moving outside to a playground, the big man does some pull ups before grabbing the kid after accusing him of saying something about his mum.

Big Man has a good set up as the boy’s strange story is told in voiceover which is then manifested visually into the events he’s describing. The weird dreamy situation is realised well and sets up great intrigue as to what actually could be happening. 

Back in the school office, the mum seems confused with the odd moments she’s hearing and also spots a hole in the child’s story, yet he backtracks and continues on. Then the final part sees a ball hit both the man and child, thus causing his bruise.

The boy ends with a coy admission that he does embellish his stories a bit, whilst a hard cut back to the school office sees the teacher simply stating he’s a liar. Harsh! But is there one more twist in this scenario?

Big Man is a quaint and fun short story, which seems aimed at a younger crowd. With a slight repositioning it could work well as an education tool or video for primary school children. It could warn about the dangers of lying or more seriously, how children should tell the truth about what's happening to them no matter how strange or serious the situation - especially when an adult is involved.

It's a bit messy (especially with the ending) and I could be overthinking it, but somewhere in here sits a darker tone under the surface about what adults should believe about how children get injured and not dismissing wild claims straight away.

That said, the mix of reality and story-telling is a simple and effective combination for a young viewer - even though it’s a bit basic for an older audience. And on the surface it neatly uses a comedy-skit structure to explore the ramifications of telling a “tall tale” and although a solid if slightly unremarkable child’s story, it actually poses some appropriate questions the more you think about it.

★★★

3 / 5

Michael Sales

X @midlandsmovies