Scummy Man (2006) User Reviews (3)

The Cesspool is Leaking

[rava-1 · 6/10 · 24 September 2006]

*Possible Spoilers*

Let's start out by giving a "hats off" salute to Stephen Graham as the titular "Scummy Man." He reminded me of Bob Hoskins at his best. His is a disturbing, dark and thoroughly engrossing performance by an actor fearless enough to bring this disgusting character to life. The bits of set-up in the beginning and his attempts to satisfy his burning lust through any means necessary have a dark humor that then tips dangerously into true darkness. He obviously isn't afraid to dip his toes into the cesspool of man's baser desires, creating a man so gross he has no real understanding of how to relate to those less scummy than himself. He fits so perfectly with that title; "When the Sun Goes Down" scum such as George comes out to rule the streets.

This short stuck with me after I watched it, but it felt very incomplete. It is by turns pretty moving and engaging and unsatisfying and depressing. It's a weird combo of gritty reality film-making and improbable moments that never really meld comfortably together into a unified tone. Most acting is pretty good, with the exception of the magician character, who never seems quite real. I'm not sure if this is the actor's fault or if the script just left him at sea. The film also asks us to buy a few strained plot devices.

It easily could have been developed into a full film, which probably would have been more illuminating. These few issues aside, I was glad I watched "Scummy Man" (especially once I'd taken a few cleansing showers).

Overall a depressing but effective short film that compliments a good track

[bob the moo · 14 June 2006]

George is a "normal bloke". Kicked off by a guitar player he met in his local, George invites a magician to the hotel bar to chat before asking him upstairs to "show him some magic tricks". Naively the magician goes to his shabby room only to find that George wants sex. When the man flees the room George gets a taxi and goes looking for Nina, a 15 year old heroin addict whom he knows he can bully into sex. Nina's life is a mess and it looks like small acts of kindness from a taxi driver and a magician could damage it as much as help.

Commissioned by the Artic Monkeys as a tie-in to their song "When the Sun Goes Down", this short film is based on their lyrics and makes for a rather depressing film but one that is interesting at the same time. Being based on a song, this film naturally struggles with a strong plot and is more about the two basic characters sketched out by the Monkeys. The main two people are Nina and George and they are basically representing the people who exist when the sun goes down – the back streets, the lowlifes, the "scum" (for whatever reason). In this way the film is quite compelling although I didn't think the whole thing about the magician and the degree of coincidence worked. The film is best looking at these lives as well as taxi driver Jock and his frozen relationship with his wife.

The direction and writing from Fraser is good and he handles the air of depression and hopelessness really well. Graham is convincingly scummy as the man of the title and gives a horrid performance while still being unsettlingly real. Socha is just as disturbing with a girl who is stuck on drugs, stuck on cheap exploitation and abuse. Her situation is not exaggerated and it is depressing how spot-on she gets the touting for sex and the foul behaviour. Support is good from McClelland. Although his character could have done with more depth he brings a lot out with what he is able to do.

The film ends with a very fast version of the film played out with the song like a music video – it doesn't add much to the film but it is interesting to see how well the words fit the film and also a good chance to enjoy the song itself. Overall a depressing but effective short film that compliments a good track.

Life on the streets

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 27 December 2017]

"Scummy Man" is an award-nominated British live action short film from 2006, so this one had its 10th anniversary last year already and this one was written and directed by Paul Fraser back then, a filmmaker who wasn't too prolific really in recent years anymore, but also doesn't seem retired. Here we have a story about several young people living on the street for the most part of the day and we are confronted with their problems. This is what the film is about: the personal struggles of the individuals and also opportunities for them to find some peace. But even then escalation is right around the corner. It is more about the current state of things than really plot-based I would say. Even if the atmospheric take here isn't too shabby either, I did not end up too interested in any of the characters here or the story. Maybe this could have worked better as part of a full feature film, but as a standalone movie, I am just not convinced. So my overall suggestion here is to skip the watch. Bleakness alone just won't cut the and the performances did not impress me either. I give it a thumbs-down.