Short Film Review “Cuddle” The weight of true affection’s absence and seeking for real connection is laid bare in this evocative picture of emotional isolation
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
First, the Recap:
“Hold me”. There is a profound sense of longing, need, desire, and necessary comfort that is contained within those two simple words. More than just surface lust or anything even intimate in the traditional notion, it’s that urge to just FEEL seen and to be more at ease. So, if we would find ourselves living in a reality where this depth of connection has actually been purged from society, what path would we have to satisfy this want?
It is within such an actuality that we are sent into the life of a young man named Oliver (Arron Blake), an artist who is beyond the edge of sanity when it comes to just wishing to be physically bonded with someone, yes, but that also has genuine meaning fueling it. Having continually relied on shallow encounters that do note remotely bring actual fulfillment, Oliver turns to an app, the company behind it that sells the kind of human contact he seeks, and the “product” he orders, Nate (Théodore Sylvain). But, will even this be what he’s really looking for?
Next, my Mind:
The pursuit of sincere adoration is hard enough as it is, or so it seems in a world where selflessness has been replaced by pure self-indulgence, even at the cost others’ comfort and dignity. The hollowness, however, that such endeavors breeds can also come back to haunt you, causing the realization that it IS actually veritable love we desire. The question remains whether we can find it. I felt that it is this grander path which the new 13-minute indie short film from writer/director/producer Arron Blake, producer/cinematographer Darius Shu, plus executive producers Philip Brisebois and Heather Simmonds chooses to explore, doing so via establishing an ambiance that is dramatically endearing, at times painfully heartbreaking, and eerily jarring. To plumb the depths of human intimacy is a formidable challenge, as there are so many potential factors that form its designs. How Blake & Co. forge into and through it is visceral, affecting, and compelling.
Lust vs. love, true acknowledgement vs. surface gratification, devotion vs. debasement, connection vs. cold separation all play a part in a narrative that sees a young man striving to find his simple but profound need for attachment to someone else be satisfied while living in a world that has literally banned such notions. It paints this harsh reality of a new kind of epidemic that has been manifested….widespread loneliness. Then, what becomes emphatically clear in the wake of such an actuality is that how the business portrayed in the film whose app Oliver turns to has made resolving this necessity transactional rather than remotely grounded or even human. It’s become a JOB to provide what really does amount to manufactured comfort, hence leading to total emotional unavailability on the part of the giver, while the recipient’s actual want may still go unfulfilled.
This is what brings about the more candidly raw, albeit poignant, instances in the narrative’s course, as we witness what really amounts to pretending to be cared for by someone, The rub, however, is when the client’s initial hesitations about “the process” suddenly turns into a natural, growing, and warm vibe that SHOULD dictate real attraction to someone else, that feeling of being seen and appreciated that SHOULD lead to the possibilities of love. Yet, once more, in a realm where this kind of commitment isn’t on the plate, the reaction to this scenario occurring is adeptly addressed here, much less layering the a specific ramification and the subsequent ripple effect of it all into the mix, illustrating how blatantly impactful, and even damaging, such a brief encounter with authentic contentment can be to someone whose life has been devoid of such things for FAR too long.
The spiraling that arises and the journey which consequently leads to what I felt was the film’s deeply unnerving finale acutely showcases how our own wants can be both necessary and crippling, more so when we tend to realize others who aren’t at all concerned about any sort of depth of relationship or even baseline fondness for others remain the quick fixes that use us then move on, with no regret about not having truly FELT anything. I must be transparent here in that I am very much hoping I am communicating the gist of the film’s intent correctly and with intelligently thought out ideas. This film is one that has such a wealth of implications and nuances, conspicuous as well as underlying, and to put it all into words is not the easiest thing per se. This isn’t a BAD thing, mind you. It’s a call for people to have the opportunity to WATCH the film and assess for themselves what to pull from it, as it is categorically something to experience via viewing.
Blake offers up an understated yet emotionally-charged performance here through his role as Oliver, a struggling artist residing within a life that has been so overtly vacant when it comes to real connection with anyone on the level he wants. At the mercy of his loneliness and unfulfilled with the flings he has that hold no value, Oliver turns to an app called Cuddle, who specializes in providing precisely what he is seeking. However, upon venturing down this road, he feels something far more for the company employee, Nate, they send to be his companion to hold fondly for a time. When things don’t progress as Oliver would like, it exposes Oliver’s inner battles, forcing him to assess what it is he really does want. There’s an intentionality and degree of subtleness paired with aching resolve that Blake presents through this character, a stirring yet quietly harrowing portrait of exactly what long-standing, desperate longings can reveal about who we are.
Sylvain brings a calmly soothing but purposefully distant sense of presence that fully befits the atmosphere being created in the film through his role as Nate, the Cuddle employee who arrives to be Oliver’s solution to his physical and inner needs. However, as Nate is only performing the tasks he is hired for, the methodology behind how he attempts to open Oliver up to it all unexpectedly leads Nate to perhaps begin feeling things he hasn’t experienced in a long time himself. Withdrawing and continuing to be about the business he’s in, a return to Oliver could be in the cards, but to what ends when being unavailable is what Nate is about. This is another exercise in muted intensity, communicating the volatility of what is happening through a restrained outward performance, and Sylvain accomplishes this, exhibiting a perfect bit of requisite chemistry with Blake that one hundred percent sells you on Nate’s character and his part to play in events.
Primary supporting turns are present here from Mark Gatiss as Paul, a man we see Oliver has linked up with through online apps and who seems to ignore Oliver as much as he just wants to get his own fix in and move on, and Krystina Bojanowski as a woman client of Nate’s whose cuddle session with is witnessed by Oliver, sending the latter into a tailspin of confusion, resentment, and re-assessment. Additional supporting appearances are made by Lewis Brown, Eric Mok, Antonia Williams, and Tyson Douglas. So, in total, “Cuddle” is actually a study in contradictions, as what is meant to be a story of re-discovering the beauty of legitimate closeness and affinity for another turns into an almost tragic tale of further disconnection, a seemingly insurmountable chasm of forever being made to “keep your distance” and/or “don’t get attached”, only instead able to take what we CAN get and hope with everything we cannot show outwardly that it will be enough.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
