Directed by Daniel Daniel and written by Alfie Flewitt, gay and lonely, Lloyd is on a shame-fuelled, Grindr-addicted spiral into tragedy. Starring: Matthew Pieterse, Jamie McClean, Oliver Bennett and Alfie Flewitt.

The first thing that’s clear with Bleach is how Daniel Daniel has strongly committed to the style, it makes some bold choices and it’s consistent throughout. Choosing that grainy, dark aesthetic works well with its grungy, obsessive and isolated atmosphere.

There’s a great deal of intensity, Daniel does a great job of translating the struggle of Lloyd (Matthew Pieterse) into the visual quality and feel of the film. However, it can stray a little too far, playing with boundaries that are extremely difficult to cross successfully in a short film and don’t quite work, creating a level of discomfort which doesn’t add to the film.

However, you can see its intentions with this story of internalised hate and shame, leaning into the compulsive nature and emptiness of sex. As well as the fear of accepting intimacy or reticence to allow yourself to feel accepted or cared for.

Although, it can feel like the balance isn’t quite there, it’s doing a succinct job of capturing the inward spiral but heading down a very fatalistic road and not leaving enough space for growth or a bit of hope. There are a few sparks in there which signal the need for having a support system but they take up too small of a space within the world of Bleach.

There also isn’t a great deal to get to know about Lloyd, it would have been great to find out a bit more of what drove him to this point, to dip its toes into his history. It might have allowed Matthew Pieterse to round out his performance, he does a fantastic job of matching the direction’s intensity and his portrayal of shame is excellently done.

However, it might have elevated it even further if we were given a bigger idea of his personality and journey. Granted, it’s a difficult thing to capture in less than twenty minutes. Although Jamie McClean does bring a nice touch of warmth and kindness to help add variety and develop the layers to the story.

Bleach creates an intense portrayal of loneliness and shame. How it can send people down a road that’s compulsive and isolated to extremes, with the exception of sex, which then only fuels the downward spiral. Each element works well together to build that atmosphere, with a good amount of grit but it can occasionally stray into graphic territory which doesn’t feel like it’s adding to the film rather just deepening what already exists.

The balance isn’t quite there to bring some light to its darkness, to even out its depressive nature. Despite the fact, it ultimately does feel as though it’s trying to express the need for support to avoid these experiences. As well as that its strong commitment to representing those themes of shame and internalised hate are well done.

Verdict: ✯✯✯ | 6/10

Available now on All4 as part of their Iris Prize collection of shorts