Of all the films I saw at the recent Satisfied Eye International Film Festival (where this screened as part of a Best of British block) Portrait is the one that has stuck longest in the memory.
It takes a brave filmmaker to tackle a subject such as this in such a unique and challenging way. Part drama, part documentary-style filmmaking, it takes the painful threads of truth from the subjects who provided input for the script, and weaves them expertly through the narrative.
In less accomplished hands, Portrait could have been both sententious and sentimental, but no such flaws for this expertly crafted film. From the excellent direction, stellar editing to the wonderful performances - again, a real accomplishment with an incredible ensemble of actors providing dramatic performances that avoid reconstruction bathos - it is a short which has the bite of an edge-of-your-seat thriller, while shining a light on the worst elements of the modelling industry.
Bravo.
