Directed by Tj O’Grady Peyton and written by Michael Whelan, when Isaac needs somewhere to sleep, he secretly moves into the home of an elderly blind woman, leading them to form a unique bond. Starring: Brid Brennan, Gabriel Adewusi, Walé Adebusuyi, Brody Abbey, Helen Norton, Jeff O’Toole and Amy Conroy.
Starting with the uncomplicated side of things, Room Taken is an excellently shot and scored (by Jamal Green) short film. It introduces itself with a melodic score that wouldn’t be out of place in a Paddington feature. It’s emotional, sweet and has a fantastic use of acoustic guitar to create something fantastic. Whether or not it’s matching to the story is up for debate but there’s no denying that it’s brilliant work by Green.
Tj O’Grady Peyton manages to bring through a surprising tension that layers the atmosphere of Room Taken. The aesthetic is strong, Evan Barry’s cinematography elevates the everyday with its use of colouring and textures. Not to mention that there’s an inherent warmth to its visual which pairs surprisingly well with the heavy nature of the story.
Brid Brennan and Gabriel Adewusi are both on top form. Momentarily continuing to ignore the huge plot issues with Room Taken, they create a sympathetic quality to the film. They’re grounded characters with endearing personalities, each with their own struggles. A different story really could have gotten more out of these performances but unfortunately, what we get is unexpectedly uncomfortable.
There’s a glaring issue with Room Taken and that is the fact that there’s no such thing as secretly moving in with a stranger, it’s called trespassing and on the verge of home invasion, depending on how you look at it. There are so many moral and ethical consequences to the choices which Isaac (Gabriel Adewusi) makes that are bafflingly glossed over by Michael Whelan, despite Adewusi making him genuinely loveable in spite of that.
The intentions are pure, that’s plain to see, they are genuinely trying to portray an unspoken bond between these two characters but that can’t logically happen when only one of them is aware of what’s going on. Sadly, the easiest comparison is that it’s the kind of bond that a stalker would have with their victim, watching them without their knowledge. It also feels as though they’re underestimating the situational awareness of blind people. Granted, you could at least get around that by saying Victoria (Brid Brennan) had lost her sight more recently, so she’s not as adjusted yet, but added to everything else, the writing is simply asking you to overlook too much.
Room Taken has two very different sides, on the one hand it’s a very well made short with great casting, and on the other hand it’s remarkably creepy for something with such a lovely score. Whelan highlights the severity of sofa surfing and hidden homelessness but unfortunately, he went the wrong way about it. As desperate as a person may be, it’s not a sympathetic act to take advantage of an elderly blind woman, even with the best of intentions, as charming as Gabriel Adewusi is. The ingredients were absolutely there but the plot is bewildering, to say the least.
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