The three Ramsey's
On the criterion DVD of Ratcatcher, the extras include the three short movies Lynne Ramsey did before. The first, her graduation work from film school, actually won the short class in Cannes.
Small Deaths
It takes three events in the life of a girl named Anne Marie and displays them without any sentimentally what so ever. They glow as well as they’re haunting and bleak—possibly even more so as they’re yanked out of context. No part of her life is glorified, only presented such as it might be.
Once can see that Lynne originally was a camera operator as every frame is visually stunning and at the same time naturally composed. The Holy Cow segment looks as if it was shot in lomo. The beginning when the two girls are down by the water looks a bit like a test shooting for Ratcatcher.
Kill the Day
A junkie in prison tries to pass the days in solitude while being taunted by the guards. There’s quite many flashbacks too, so the guards only appear in the framing of the story.
Grain, high contrast, lots of close-ups and the occasional use of unfocused actors. The lightning is really, really good and it is worth to see it just because of that. The short only uses natural sounds—no music and the main character almost never speak unless it’s in a flashback. While it has a story and it holds together more, it still not quite as good as Small Deaths. It might be that the pacing at times is a bit off, as when it’s good it’s really good.
Gasman
A man takes his kids to a party. It’s a bit more than that though, but you have to watch it yourself. No, it’s not an option. This is as good as the short format can get, at least in my experience.
“Wow” is a word that fits pretty well. (I’d really want a commentary track to this one.) When the mother closes the door without revealing her face? Gosh. At the railway tracks, with occasional vignette from the lens, excellent compositions and beautifully muted colours it’s a delight to watch. The real kicker comes towards the end, when it’s dark and they go homewards. It is possibly one of the best looking things I’ve seen in regards to light and shadow ever—it’s this and The Third Man.
