In the 1974 World Cup, Scotland are looking good, having been all over Yugoslavia and Brazil, much to the joy of Stevie's Dad. With the final group game coming up, Da is focused on getting a television that works so he can see the game live, but young Stevie prefers to take the chance of being alone in the house to get dressed up in make up and boots like his glam rock heroes. However, when his Da comes home and catches him it spells trouble but is it the make up that is the issue?
At first I thought this film was going to be a sort of sports movie in reference to the World Cup of 74, then I thought it was going to be a comedy about glam rock before then thinking it was about the distance between the father and son based on the loss of their wife/mother. However after watching it I realized that it was about all three. The script goes nicely from being the first to being the third aspects and it is nicely developed in the way that we learn more and therefore understand more about the characters as we go. I found it quite nice and surprising because in the middle section it was coming as more of a comedy until I fell into sobering understanding of what was really going on here. The distance between the father and son is well delivered and the script trusts us to come to it rather than dropping it in our lap too early.
The cast help out well, playing the early sections light but keeping the pain and anger just below their characters' surfaces. The director does well also, with light touches at times followed by more sombre scenes the sets and costumes are also good, making a convincing 1974. Overall this is an interesting short film that is surprisingly good thanks to the writing which never takes the easy route. Having been amused by it at times I was worried that it wasn't that funny until the end comes and you realize this is about emotions other than happiness. An unassuming piece that is worth seeing.
