Short Film Review: “Maximus”
Dir: Richard Prendergast
UK • Fantasy • 16 Mins
A young girl regales a reluctant stranger with the tale of Maximus, a brave young warrior fighting for his life. As the story unfolds, through humour, imagination and magic, the stranger finds out that he is in fact an integral part of Maximus's epic adventure.
Maximus is a magical and beautiful film about human endeavour that tackles a difficult and distressing subject with heart and soul in an inspiring, entertaining and ultimately uplifting way, cleverly weaving together a rich tapestry of storytelling techniques and ideas.
After the film’s opening scene in the fantasy world where we’re first introduced to the film’s titular character preparing for battle, we are transported to more familiar territory and meet young India, our guide, in the grounds of a hospital. India stalks Mike, a doctor and the true hero of the piece, before inviting herself to join him on a bench as he attempts to get some peace and tranquillity via a meditation tape and a cigarette. Together on the bench, India begins to pummel Mike with the most fantastical story, and the adventure of Maximus gets into full swing.
Maisie Prendergast, as India, has a lot to do and brilliantly guides us through the story with an engaging, playful and endearing performance. The role is perfectly written. There’s not a hint of the tired “wise old soul in a child’s body” cliche, which generally stems from a laziness from the writer not knowing how to write young characters. India is written simply as a young girl, behaving like a child, explaining the world as she sees it, and Maisie, commanding the screen, performs this wonderfully with great fun, wide-eyed innocence and captivating excitement.
Somewhat ironically, Albert Clogston as Mike is the unsung hero of the film. His performance is more restrained but no less affecting or endearing and he is without a doubt this film’s secret weapon in more ways than one. There’s a hidden trauma and sadness to Mike which Clogston plays with subtle dignity. As Mike sits on the bench, battle weary from one lost war, he is slowly reminded of the importance of the victories, having fought overwhelming odds, that he has had in the past. This bittersweet realisation, which helps Mike reframe his thoughts, is delivered with breathtaking brilliance by Albert Clogston.
Together, Albert and Maisie have incredible chemistry and play off each other beautifully. Both India and Mike have their coping mechanisms. India relies on outlandish, but fun storytelling and Mike has his meditation tapes and cigarettes. Mike might not be quite ready to give up the cigarettes perhaps, but he may be willing to sit with his own thoughts, reflecting on his victories from now on thanks to India.
The fantasy sequences are highly cinematic and captivating. There’s a bold, immense scale to everything and it all looks, feels and sounds as good as anything you’d see on a modern fantasy TV show. The production values are top-notch with the props, costumes and sets all appearing to be made to order, and they all look fantastic.
The visual effects are excellent and used purely when needed and in moderation. It never feels like we’re watching a VFX showcase, which can be the case all too often, unfortunately. Everything on screen is there for storytelling purposes only. The moderately scary monster makeup is also fantastic in both conception and execution, perfectly fulfilling its practical and metaphorical uses.
The imaginative & sincere script from director Richard Prendergast is masterfully constructed. It’s no small feat to be able to delicately balance the story, adventure and emotional rollercoaster playing out in these two worlds, but Prendergast does so effortlessly and with fine precision.
The film is made all the more poignant knowing that it was inspired by a real-life Max(imus), India and Mike. And as the story unravels, the real hero becomes known, and with that, the film carries with it a timely reminder of just how essential and important the infrastructure of our NHS is to us.
Much like with his writing, while directing Prendergast effortlessly jumps between genre, style and tone while bringing the film to life. The adventure and fantasy have all the urgency and spectacle it needs, while the more serious and emotional side of the film is treated delicately with care and understanding, giving it the time it requires to breathe and unfold. And miraculously, none of these aspects clash or stand at odds with one another. Prendergast demonstrates incredible skill in dealing with the different stylistic, pacing and performance elements while always making sure Maximus feels like one film.
The film is very well-paced and the editing is sharp. The brisk pace never lets you pause for thought but still moves at a speed that allows you to absorb everything that transpires and before you know it, the film’s emotive crescendo unwittingly creeps up on you, delivering an emotional gut punch that will leave you with at the very least a lump in your throat.
The film is beautifully shot, and again as with the writing and directing, cinematographer Paddy Bartram skilfully brings two very different yet complementary looks to the screen. The fantasy sequences exploit the vast, unfriendly and sprawling nature of the adventure with sweeping aerial shots and intense battle scenes in a dark and misty forest, while the conversations between Mike and India in the hospital grounds are much softer, tighter and eventually more warm & intimate.
Composers Jack Douglas & Daniel Coe provide a great score with searing moments of battle and endeavour at times while slipping subtly into more playful, warm and at times emotional pieces.
A lot of short films are passion projects, driven by one or two motivated individuals with many talented and helpful people jumping in where they can to help strengthen the vision of the filmmaker. With the sheer scale of Maximus however, it’s clear that there was a whole driving force behind this film who’ve taken as much care and attention to deliver the goods as anyone else. The colossal amount of work from all involved to bring this epic little adventure to the screen is clearly evident, and it would be remiss to not acknowledge the entire crew, from the hard work of producers to the PAs who undoubtedly all went on their own hero’s journey in getting this incredible film on to the screen.
Maximus is a masterclass in short filmmaking and may well be a perfect short film. It’s tight, self-contained and conclusive. The skill and ingenuity at every level is outstanding. And to cap it all off, it’s a tremendously entertaining, funny, endearing and emotional film.
Maximus is a special, endearing, magical short film, flawlessly executed by all concerned and full of hope, fun & adventure with an uplifting message.
10/10
Maximus won Best Director, Best Writer, Best Young Performer (for Maisie Prendergast as India), Best Cinematography, Best Score and was nominated for Best Short Film, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Best Actor (for Albert Clogston as Mike) at our 2022 film festival.
Reviewed by Philip Pugh
