From the fist second we saw the main character in the first scene of this movie, the only thing that came up to our minds were those famous lyrics that put the 90’s on the map: “But I’m a creep/ I’m a weirdo/ What the hell I am doing here/ I don’t belong here”. Radiohead’s Creep could have easily been the soundtrack for the first thirty seconds of this short, and the entire story would have been way clearer for us. ‘Tea’ is the kind of short that has some great acting, some good lines, very good editing, but there is something that’s missing for becoming a great short movie. Let’s find out what.

 

In terms of acting, Vanessa Jackson does a great job portraying the concerned yet distracted woman who tries to cope with a difficult personality by all means. This role sends her directly in our notable actresses’ hall of fame, with some moments that are truly great for a secondary character. The editing of this short was very good, leaving no dead spots, no unnecessary frames between the cuts; truth be told, ‘Tea’ was a great surprise for us in terms of technicalities, being done in a very professional manner. Another thing that caught our eye was the dialogue: in some points it was sharp and edgy, exactly as we wanted it to be, having that bitterness only lack of hope can bring up into someone. The only downside this short had was the story. Yes, we are sad to say that, but as it was presented and by how it escalated, we’ve expected something more out of it, and we found ourselves in the end not impressed by the whole existential crisis the main character was going through. Of course, this topic is hot right now with all the problems young people encounter, but in this case we weren’t entirely convinced by it.

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Seen as a whole, Valentyn Korotkevych’s short movie is like a cup of tea you order in a fancy restaurant, where you drink half of it and when you put it back on the table the waiter comes and takes it, leaving you with a sense of bitter frustration.

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Written by Vlad A. G