WAR SHORT: Coward (2012)

                        “Coward” is a war short set in the Great War.  It was directed by David Roddham and was his second and last short.  He went on to a career as a special effects technician.  “Coward” cost $250,000.  It lasts 25 minutes and is available on YouTube.

                        The movie leads off with a Kipling quote:  “I could not look on Death,/ Which being known,/  Men led  me to him,  /  Blindfolded and alone.”  That blindfold Is what we call foreshadowing.  Two Irish lads go off to war enthusiastically.  Andrew (Martin McCann) promises James’ (Sean Stewart) mother to protect him.  Suddenly, the duo are in a trench at Ypres in 1917.  We have no idea what transpired since 1915. They appear to be survivors who have lost their idealism.  The core group is slightly dysfunctional but much of it can be chalked up to the mud, rain, and dead bodies.  And the senselessness of the war.  They have a commanding officer who threatens to send them over the top after he accuses them of stealing some brandy.  This builds to a battle scene.

                        I have several problems with this movie.  First, the Captain is an inconsistent character.  He follows up his reprisal threat with an apology and extra liquor ration, then he turns on Andrew for no good reason.  Second, the battle is very confusing.  It begins with a small barrage that hits the trench.  This type of harassing barrage seldom presaged an attack and yet this one supposedly does.  Yet, we see no German soldiers.  In fact, the movie has Tommies advancing.  Somehow Andrew and James end up in no man’s land due to the barrage.  Andrew behaves bravely until shell shock sets in.  Third, the Captain orders a withdrawal even though there are no Germans attacking.  And he has the nerve to accuse Andrew of disobeying orders!  Fourth, the movie makes a point of Andrew and James being Irish.  We don’t know what motivated them to enlist, even though the war was not popular with the Irish.  In the movie, they’re being Irish is not brought up until the post script which implies Andrew’s fate was due to his being Irish.  Basically, I’m saying the movie needed to be longer so these plot points could have been fleshed out.  It feels rushed so its ending has diluted impact.

                        A longer version would have been nice because the effort is admirable.  The acting is good and Martin McCann went on to a good career, including a key role in “’71”.  The movie starts strong with James’ mother barely holding it together as her only son goes off to war.  A picture of her late-lamented veteran husband subtly reminds us of the effects of war on women.   The trench set is realistic and shows the sincerity of the production.  It is appropriately gross and barely habitable.  At one point, one of the mates is digging and is splashed with blood from a corpse.  You can see why the men are miserable.  The movie is very micro, but what little no man’s land it could afford is great.  It is hellish with its shell craters and dead horses.  (I admit it is hard to explain a horse in no man’s land in 1917.)   The effects are well done.  Andrew has legitimate shell shock.

                        “Coward” is worth the watch because it is short and watchable.  It will make you think and not just about the flaws in the script.  Too bad it wasn’t a rough draft for a feature film.

GRADE  = C