Hometown Hero [Video]
Posted by admin on
By Omeleto
.
.
Billy has come back to his small English hometown after a stint as a war photographer. He has joined his family’s newspaper staff, which is run by his brother Roman, who is trying to breathe new life into the small publication. But Billy feels like working on the village paper is beneath him, where the biggest story so far is a mysterious vegetable produce slasher.
But when the brothers decide to stake out a garden to catch the courgette slasher in action in hopes of landing a big story, Billy confronts the damage of his past and has a chance to reconnect with Roman.
Written and directed by Max McCabe, this amiable short comedy is a riff on the great tradition of small-town stories lived with cheekily outsized stakes and emotion. Elements of the whodunit and an affectionately satirical portrait of English village life make up part of the storytelling mix, but the real heart of the story comes from the relationship with the two brothers, whose opposing experiences and desires become reconciled through misadventure.
The comedy comes from the paradox of taking something small seriously, and in this particular village, it’s a “courgette slasher.” (That’s zucchini to those more familiar with American English.) Someone is getting revenge for a town council battle by slashing the garden produce of those who voted a particular way on a recent resolution, and the village paper is hot on the trail.
The writing has a lot of fun with sprinkling the details of village life through the witty dialogue, but it’s delivered with such wryness and quicksilver pacing that it’s never over the top or too screwball. The rhythm and tenor of the film remain similarly low-key, which brings the characters to the fore. Former war photographer Billy is charged with taking dramatic photos for social media and publication, and he’s brought low by the task.
His past work has also given him PTSD, and he’s also depressed, which the film handles with equanimity. Actor Dylan Edwards plays Billy’s mental health struggles with straightforward precision and an understatement that allows his travails to sit seamlessly within the comic milieu. It allows for a moment for the brothers to bond and opens up a much-needed conversation between them that brings them closer. And when the courgette slasher shows up, they can finally work together as a unit to bring him down.
“Hometown Hero” has a sincere message about men and mental health, but it’s gently folded into a delightful British comedy that ripples with ironic wit, affectionate satire and just a touch of mordant humor. It offers not just an entertaining story, but a small, comforting slice of the world where the biggest news event is a series of smashed squashes. But the film is also aware of the collateral damage of a larger, more complex world, and it offers a sweetly hopeful portrait of a community and relationship where there’s openness and kindness to help healing, along with a dose of laughter.
Transcript provided by YouTube:
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
billy
got a suspect oh yeah
mr boeing that’s a pretty interesting
development right
same again he’s actually done quite a
bit more damage this time he’s destroyed
everything i had
and you say that your whole crop’s been
ruined this time gwen look at it
might still work in a soup
oh my actually
and you say it’s 12 quarters yeah guess
12.
okay
we’ve got a few wide shots
gwen can you just stand in the middle
there with the most damaged courgette
oh that is mangled how about the biggest
courgette that was damaged
perfect yeah yeah nice
it’s him you know mr bowie
the thing is you can’t really print that
he’s just a suspect otherwise it’s
defamatory
he’s had a beer in his bonnet ever since
they took away his traffic cone okay i
think we got it i think cone outside his
house
because he thinks he deserves a disabled
bet
got a bad heart
bad heart yeah we covered this story
can’t really go anywhere
gwen are you able to kneel down and
point at some of the damage
okay
okay
okay we got it
maybe just a couple more
yeah candid doco style
magic
no
he’s in a good mood
oh yeah
we’re very lucky to have billy back
he’s um
experienced
oh
is that why he’s got that limp
it’s uh
it didn’t go very well
but he’s smashing his new role well i
know your dad is very proud of you both
well we’re just trying to breathe a bit
of new life into it you know get the
relationship online social media that’s
something
yeah but he thinks he’s overqualified
and he the thing is
being in a war zone isn’t necessarily
all it’s cracked up to be
there’s plenty of action here in north
sheen to keep us busy
how are we looking bro
did you get some candid stuff yeah we
definitely got it covered ah it’s not
enough though
look we’ve got all the angry pointing
stuff we got the score the story it’s
not enough
we’ve got a suspect without any evidence
all we can print is
courgette slasher strikes again
yeah well he’s struck again a few times
now exactly it’s not front page news
we need to blow this thing wide open
take him out yes billy we catch you in
the act
yes billy we hide in the shed and wait
for the taliban to come the courgette
slasher
strike when they’re least expected
exactly
a steak out we’ll catch him doing it
huh a stakeout
no no that’s a mad idea but it’s perfect
the attacks have consistently been
increasing in frequency
he’s clearly desperate to return to the
scene of the crime if we say it tonight
we’ll almost definitely get him the
green menace caught riding think about
it
how much longer do you boys need i want
to get back in time for casualty gwen
if you had to guess who do you think the
slasher would hit next
that one
mr creswell the head teacher of the
school he’s the only one that voted
against the traffic code that hasn’t
been done yet
and his murrows are just coming up
we’re gonna stay here and stake up the
slasher
oh
suit yourself if you’re still here when
it’s finished i’ll be back with a flask
of tea thanks gwen
great working with you
have fun
no no it’s a mad idea we’ve inherited a
readership of about zero dad has no idea
what state it was in when he left it to
us but he would kill him to see the
paper fold it’s just a silly paper it’s
not silly billy look if the paper dies
we can just move on with our lives
seriously
this is the only job i’ve ever known
i’m sorry but it’s not exactly like
you’ve got that much to show for your
big career as a war photographer is it
a bit of ptsd in a maybe from the
guardian picture asking you back here at
the boring old herald
there’s always a job for you to come
back to
billy this could save the paper
sorry
it’s okay
for the ptsd thing
it’s fine
what it’s fine
i shouldn’t have said it
it’s fine okay i was just feeling
stressed
you know trying to keep the paper
together
you’re doing a good job man
really
yeah
it’s good to have you back you know
you’re the only one with any real
experience
you’re the only one who gets it
i think
i think i resented the fact that you’re
trying to get away from it
it’s fine yeah
okay
good
billy
did we get this flash
not yet
don’t think so
billy
did you see in january we ran an article
on men’s mental health
i was away
i just emailed it to you but basically
it’s 2019 men are talking about these
things now it’s from you
i’m serious i’m your brother
it’s
him [ __ ]
what do we do
i put it to you mr bowen that you are
the nor sheen courgette slasher you deny
it
now’s your chance to come clean mr poet
my readers want answers i’m giving you a
chance your side of the story that’s the
power of journalism what’s going on mr
bow when why are you slashing everyone’s
vegetables
roman is dying there’s some space in the
shed we could bury him
nuts
billy
i know this guy no one’s going to miss
him you little duster just please call
an ambulance hey call an ambulance now
okay mr bowen
my name’s billy
can you hear me just stay with me okay
yeah vandalizing
courgettes
mr bowen
well how well do you know sheen
yeah the allotment’s behind saying
christmas primary school okay right i’m
just going to pop you into a recovery
position okay mr bone nice and gentle
yep
okay okay yeah i’ll check
they say is he still breathing
is there another number for dead bodies
or is that you guys as well
okay
see in a bit
yep
an ambulance is coming anyway
cut the slasher anyway yeah
yeah
how the photos turn out
pretty good
oh yeah
very good
[Music]
so
[Music]
you
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
***
You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project
 Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often |
 Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It |
 The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex |
 ..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything |
Join The Good Men Project as a Premium Member today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
A $50 annual membership gives you an all access pass. You can be a part of every call, group, class and community.
A $25 annual membership gives you access to one class, one Social Interest group and our online communities.
A $12 annual membership gives you access to our Friday calls with the publisher, our online community.
Register New Account
Log in if you wish to renew an existing subscription.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
—
Photo credit:
The post Hometown Hero [Video] appeared first on The Good Men Project.