Written and directed by Jamie Benyon, two brothers who rob a corner shop only to be interrupted by their Nan. Starring: Annette Badland, Samuel Bottomley and Ashley Margolis.
When the short itself is only a little bit more than Two Minutes, what Jamie Benyon manages to achieve is impressive. Starting off with the plot itself, adding that robbery element gives the story a wider feel, adding in plenty of tension and a ticking clock, which is especially clever when the film itself is actually very intimate. It smartly manages to never feel rushed, the fact that they’re running out of time is perfectly present and yet the timing is right where it should be to satisfyingly deliver the comedy.
A lot of that ties in with Benyon’s directorial style, adding lots of movement while mostly contained within a singular car. It adds that feel of action and thrill, while firmly in the embrace of its comedy roots, mixing in a little extra genre to its humour. The pacing is to the point but brings in a nice amount of awkwardness, it’s genuinely funny and surprisingly sweet. Perhaps its biggest strength to what makes it work so well is that it’s convincing, it never feels like a sketch or sitcom, the setup hits the right note to bring everything together.
Yet, you can’t forget the other key element which makes everything work, the cast. Annette Badland is almost criminally underrated for how many iconic pieces of film and television she has appeared in over her exceptional almost fifty-year career to date. In Two Minutes she shows exactly why she’s such a national treasure, she creates an excellent, charming character who is kind yet forceful, caring yet probing, and is an absolute delight to watch.
Samuel Bottomley adds a lot to the film’s tension, keeping his character nicely on edge an trying to walk that line between getting his Nan to go away and not being outright aggressive. It’s a great performance and his back and forth with Badland is extremely enjoyable. Ashley Margolis’ appearance may be briefer but he adds some very sincere and lovely notes as Two Minutes comes to a close.
Two Minutes is funny, expertly paced and tense yet light-hearted. There’s a superb cast at work, Annette Badland, Samuel Bottomley and Ashley Margolis make for a wonderful trio. Jamie Benyon’s writing and direction work perfectly in sync to give the story an edge of thrill without losing its comedy heart, making for a lovable, sweet and highly entertaining outing.
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