The Silent City (2006)

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"The Silent City" is a 7-minute science fiction short film from Ireland written and directed by Oscar nominee Ruairi Robinson. Interestingly enough, he switched from animation (that's what his Oscar nomination was for) to live action, but still stayed in the short film genre. I personally wasn't impressed by what I have seen from him so far, this one here probably even less than his Oscar-nominated short. It is really all style over substance acting as if this was something heroic, something significant, but this movie here has nothing to offer beyond decent special effects and costumes. A really forgettable watch that does not make me one bit more curious about Robinson's works. I do not recommend checking it out, especially unimpressive as he had been in film for a long time already when he shot this movie 10 years ago.

I feel the majority of the people leaving views on this short film (in the message boards) are missing the point. Projects like this are not made so much to entertain an audience (though it's an advantage to do so), but to showcase a director or film-making team's talents and abilities in the hope of being signed up to a full scale project.As with so many such short films we are shown on the UK's Channel 4, I am left disappointed at the resolution of the film, thinking, "Is that all there is?". But as a showcase of what the writer/director can do (and that he can interest a known actor such as Cillian Murphy into working with him), I'd say it was a success.I often feel cheated when there's no resolution to a short like this, even though I have seen many great movies where the viewer is left to ponder what the final result or outcome was, but I realise it was intended to interest a production company or perhaps a more established director looking for someone to handle second unit duties.In short (excuse the pun) this was an advert for Robinson, not necessarily entertainment for a regular audience, and in that sense it was successful in leaving people wanting more.I certainly wanted to know what the threat was to the soldiers, what was going to happen to them in the minutes following the end credits, but (even assuming Robinson himself knew) it was better for his purposes to leave things open-ended so that the aforementioned companies and directors would be intrigued enough to see what else Robinson can do.All the elements were well executed, assuming this was relatively low budget, from the opening moment where you wonder who the character is going to be, to the end where you wonder what is approaching, the lighting, decent CGI and SFX, and good camera work. this is one short where, although I am annoyed that I am left unsatisfied - confused even - I can appreciate it succeeded in its ultimate task - to create interest in the director.My score is based on what I believe the film's target was, rather than how much it satisfied me personally (for which it would have scored lower due to the "Is that it?" factor).

Great short film! My complaint is the same as anyone else who has seen it... it's too short! I would love to see a full-length feature film based on the premise presented here. The marriage of computer graphics and live footage was done well. The acting, direction and story were very good based on what little was presented here. Although the whole "movie" was only about five minutes in length the atmosphere, character development and tension were bang-on (no pun intended). I don't know who is behind this short production but I hope this is a prelude to future developments.Good work!

The story revolves around 3 soldiers who are on the outskirts of a war torn city. They are patrolling an area when a bomb is accidentally set off and they have to wait for help. The short is, well, pretty short. Clocking in at just around 5 minutes, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot you can do in that amount of time but the imagery was certainly there. Well done cinematography and CG make for what could possibly be a full length ordeal if done by the same people.It took a bit, but while watching it I couldn't help but think that one of the soldiers looked a lot like Cillian Murphy. When the credits rolled, sure enough up came his name.Would definitely like to see more from this team.