Native Son (2010 film)
Native Son is a 2010 drama film by Scottish director Scott Graham, based on an original screenplay.[1] The film stars Sean Harris, Agnieszka Bresler, Kirsty Strain, Barrie Hunter and Leo Horsfield.
| Native Son | |
|---|---|
 Sean Harris as "John" in Native Son | |
| Directed by | Scott Graham |
| Produced by | Cinema Extreme David Smith of Brocken Spectre Film 4 |
| Written by | Scott Graham |
| Starring | Sean Harris Agnieszka Bresler Kirsty Strain Barrie Hunter Tony Bradford Kate Dickie Leo Horsfield |
| Music by | Sons and Daughters |
| Cinematography | Yoliswa Gärtig |
| Edited by | Rachel Tunnard |
Release date |
|
Running time | 19 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50,000 |
Plot
John, played by Sean Harris, lives in a remote area of Scotland. The primary industry is potato farming and John is a picker who lives for the harvests; it is his outlet and all he has in his life. He yearns for contact, but is so self-conscious that he comes across as awkward and skittish.[2] His other outlet is watching people who live a life that he does not know how to make for himself, a life of home and family. John does not know how to act when a female co-worker shows interest in him. John exhibits all the signs of someone who has suffered untold tragedies in his life.[3]
While driving back to town on a dark and isolated road, John comes upon a car stopped up ahead. He immediately sees a hose attached to the exhaust pipe. He has come upon a suicide by carbon monoxide and tries to help, but the woman is already dead. Suddenly, headlights appear in the opposite direction and John’s immediate reaction is to hide the body, though he has done nothing wrong. John is like one who feels blame for every event, even those for which there is no blame. That decision leads John to take the body of the dead young woman to a shed in the woods. Now John finds the intimacy and physical contact he so desperately craves.
Early the next morning, John is awakened to hear the sounds of police combing the woods calling his name. He has overslept. He quickly throws on some clothes and begins to run through the woods, but townspeople have now taken up the search for John. He runs at first, but he suddenly gives up trying to escape his pursuers and turns to face them, looking skyward. The townspeople have found him first. He knows his fate, and the townspeople club him before the police arrive.
In his final moments, the policewoman who first comes upon John touches his head to examine his wounds and strokes his wounded forehead as he dies from the clubbing. It may have been the only gentle touch that John has known.
Cast
- Sean Harris
- Agnieszka Bresler on IMDb, as Anna
- Kirsty Strain, as the dead woman
- Barrie Hunter on IMDb
- Tony Bradford on IMDb
- Kate Dickie
- Leo Horsfield on IMDb, as young field worker
Production
- Cinema Extreme
- David Smith of Brocken Spectre[2]
- Film 4
Filming
The filming of Native Son was completed in 5 days and was filmed in Annan, Scotland.[4] The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival during the week of 5 July 2010.[1][5] and screened at the 2010 Palm Springs ShortFest.[6]
It is sensitively filmed despite the topic of breaking a taboo. It has excellent writing, direction, and an exceptionally sensitive performance by Harris. John can be viewed as the victim of his own untold backstory circumstance and a resulting desperation that leads him to commit the final prohibited act.[3]
Screenplay
Director and screenwriter, Scott Graham, said that the subject of necrophilia was not written for the shock of a real paraphilia.[4] It is about loneliness.[3] Scott Graham came up with the idea for the screen play when he had to move from Scotland to Amsterdam, the Netherlands for an extended period while filming another film.[3] His own feelings of isolation and his feelings of disconnection, while away from home, provided the inspiration for the screenplay.[3]
References
- "Native Son (2010)". Mubi. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- Scottish Screen. "Scottish Screen". Creative Scotland. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- Hunter, Allan. "Tales of Native Son". Northings. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- Jamieson, Terry (6 May 2010). "Director Scott's got a Cannes do attitude pays off". The Scotland Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- British Film Council. "British Film Council Our Projects 2012, Scott Graham Short Film Promotion Scheme Awardee". British Film Council. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
- Palm Springs International Film Society. "Palm Springs International Film Society". Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2014.