Baby (2002)

almost a documentary about the confusion of an age, it has two great virtues - Ben Whishaw and the right manner to use a delicate theme. story of a wake up, it is a cocktail of images, sounds, impressions and suggestions. an exploration of himself, around a swimming pool , who has as axis sexuality but , more important, the right understanding of reality. for many ex-teenagers, the film is real interesting not exactly as slice of memory but as trip in the air of a period who remains basis for assume adulthood. for other, under Peter Pan syndrome, the film preserves the feelings of first step to discover yourself blocked in time. Ben Whishaw , from the Perfume, is the most inspired choice for translate the fight against yourself for conquer the truth. the sensibility and the fascinating manner to give the force of the small details are bricks of this beautiful film.

"Baby" is an 11.5-minute short film from almost 15 years ago. The writer and director is a man who goes by the pseudonym of "W.I.Z." and has never made another film again. I cannot say this bothers me too much as all I watched here was only intended to be controversial, but did not leave a memorable impact at all, especially in terms of the sexual scenes like a group of girls masturbating on the main character. Thumbs up to the director though for casting a certain Ben Whishaw very early in his career. He is a big star now, appears in films loved by critics and blockbusters like "Skyfall" and "Spectre". It was certainly not his fault that "Baby" turned out fairly forgettable. All in all, not a good watch. thumbs down.

Beautifully shot, this short film is set in flashback: Our main character Joe is a pretty youth in his late teens who is lying on his bed in his boxers pleasuring himself. The film constantly cuts back to his day out at the swimming pool whose images and sounds provide the stimulus for his bedroom activity. The production is superb in every way, attention to each shot is evident and even the sounds of the echoing pool and glug of the water are brilliantly recorded. It's also a study of confused or ambiguous teenage sexuality: Joe is turned on alternately by his memory of a fit young male springboard diver, a young lady swimmer, guys showering off and the armpit of an Asian female newsagent!

There is next to nothing in the way of a story contained in Baby. The film is based almost exclusively around the hypnotic visuals and sound, and it is very effective. Some of the shots set outside the swimming pool are a bit cliched (the pot smoking), yukky (the womans armpit hair - ugh!), or just plain indecipherable (the women in the street hitting him with inflatable phalluses), but when the boy goes swimming it's hard to tear your eyes away. It's a very sexual piece and offers no concrete questions or answers for anything but it's certainly worth a few minutes of your time.