After moving into their new house, a volatile young couple discovers a ladybird infestation which causes further strain on their relationship. Until that is, the man unknowingly swallows one. This is Oscar Wenman-Hyde’s Love with Black Spots.
Moving house can be a stressful time for anyone but even more so for a couple who are young, fresh, and perhaps not as strong as they thought they were. If there are any cracks to be found in a relationship, then moving house will be sure to magnify them. Oli Harding and Saffron Walters play Jack and Isla – a couple who have made the decision to move in together. The 13-minute short film never tells us how long they have been a couple but, due to the innocent performances of its leads, it certainly feels fresh and new. This sets alarm bells ringing almost immediately because relationships are hard work at the best of times; add moving homes and new jobs into the mix then you better be solid. As the film opens, Isla apologises for organising it all in a rush and Jack confirms that he never viewed the home before agreeing to the move, we don’t hold out much hope for our protagonists.
Along with his cinematographer Joshy Lee, director Wenman-Hyde gives us an interesting first shot, where using a fish eye lens, he lets us view this burgeoning partnership through the peephole of their new home. It’s like we are spying on them and both Lee and Wenman-Hyde manage to keep this feeling throughout the film. This feeling is also influenced by the editing of Joshua Panes with his cuts enabling us to act like silent observers, and as such, we are able to witness the deterioration of Jack and Isla’s relationship as they grow further and further apart. The ladybird infestation is discovered on their first night and the irony is that ladybirds usually symbolise protection, healing, evolution, and good fortune, however, while we certainly see an evolution of Jack and Isla as a couple, what eventually happens to them is the complete opposite to what the bugs usually stand for. When Jack accidentally swallows one of the insects, it leads to him acting much more loved up and possessive than he was before and it’s this change of behaviour that leads to an implosion.
The script written by both Oscar Wenman-Hyde and Jade Wenman-Hyde tends to deal fearlessly with real people and while lots of films will happily spend time creating action to avoid the moments when people are talking seriously and honestly to one another, Love With Black Spots has no such fears. Writing good dialogue takes some intelligence and thankfully from the technical point of view, there is plenty of that on show. Occasionally the performances of the cast are not quite up to the standard of the writing, with some line delivery proving to be a little stilted and stiff, but towards the end, both main actors manage to find some real truth in their dialogue and it starts to feel authentic. The music by George Crabtree takes the form of acoustic songs that add to the independent feel of the film.
Overall, Love With Black Spots doesn’t add much to the romantic drama genre, the stakes are far too low for that, but what it does give us is a thoughtful and painful view of a relationship that is coming to its natural end and breaking down before our very eyes.
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