An apprehensive young man moves into university halls, and the sudden feeling of isolation forces him into an argument with his older brother about identity, love, and the repression of dreams in Oscar Wenman-Hyde’s feature film Cycles.
Cycles explores a variety of relevant teenage themes and in doing so has actually been given the perfect title. A two-hander chamber piece, Cycles tells the story of two brothers who have grown up together but are now going their separate ways. The older brother of the two, a charismatic Henry Wilson, is helping his younger brother, the innocently tortured Henry Fisk, move into his higher education digs. He has won a place at a prestigious acting school but has started to have second thoughts. It’s up to his older brother to dig deep into his sibling’s life, find out his issues, and work hard to change his mind.
A cycle is defined as a series of events that are regularly repeated in the same order and the reason that Cycles is the perfect title for this movie is that each member of the family has been through a very similar path, and as the film progresses the younger brother seems to be following a very familiar route.
As Cycles opens everything seems to be going fine, of course, the younger of the two is worried and nervous, as this is a brand new experience for him. However, it becomes clear early on that he isn’t happy, he feels scared and confused, and this dark turn suggests he’s possibly suffering from some mental health issues. As the story progresses we learn that he thinks he made the wrong choice to please his mum and his brother; that he felt pressured to do ‘better’ than them and that his life had been directed for him to stop that cycle of underachievement felt by his peers. In a sense, them putting him on a pedestal had subconsciously sent him on a downward cycle.
Cycles is 67 minutes long and set in just one location – a sparse bedsit with blank walls empty shelves and depressingly grey white colours. For a film like this to keep our attention, the characters need to be likeable and the dialogue needs to be thought-provoking. The performances of the two main cast are excellent and completely believable; we feel like they are brothers who share a long history together. There is great chemistry between the two leads but unfortunately, there is little else going on in the film to hold our attention. Some of the dialogue hits home but a lot of it feels like filler, and there isn’t enough substance here to stretch for the full hour. A lot of times films can overcome these issues by the director choosing shots or editing techniques that can help a film feel more cinematic. Wenham Hyde tends to focus more on two shots, over-the-shoulder shots, and the odd close-up here and there but there just isn’t enough variety and Cycles comes across as more of a TV show or stageplay.
That said every one of us can relate to aspects of Cycles and the acoustic guitar soundtrack is quite moving. However, when the actors actually connect with the words that they are saying the film comes alive and is a very powerful experience. Those moments in Cycles are well worth waiting for.
Leave a Reply