Synopsis

The film follows the journey of Michael King as he comes out of the old world of social distancing from his flatmate, Clare Kelly, into the new world of stepping onto the property ladder. He enters the flat where she is watching television in the dining room having been sacked from her job. She appears to have nothing to say to him when he says hello to her because they have very little in common. He continues to observe her whilst he is pouring himself a drink, knowing that they both have too far to go to find common ground. When he enters the kitchen, he is made to feel isolated when she also enters the kitchen, takes a packet of crisps out of her cupboard and turns off the light when she exits leaving him all alone in the darkness. She is not interested in his career advancement simply because her own career is stuck in a rut. He returns back to the dining room in a long scene where he sits next to her and watches television, highlighting the parallel lives that they lead. Clare gets up, switches off the television and begins hoovering the floor whilst Michael is still sitting on the sofa. She packs the vacuum cleaner away, and just as she is about to leave, Michael informs that he is moving out. This takes her by surprise, and she tries to redeem herself by saying that she should have made more of an effort to get to know him. He flashes her a look, and then exits the room, leaving her all alone in the flat. VERY ALONE.

The World of Michael King

Michael King is a man of music. He traffics the nightclubs that play 70s and 80s music at the weekend, and if he was born two decades earlier he would have been a disc jockey in the 1970s. As it is, he is a young professional working for the government. Had he studied English at university he would have been a music journalist. Now, he has financial security and is ready to step onto the property ladder. This is the world of Michael King.

The Special World of Clare Kelly

Introduction to Clare Kelly - the estranged flatmate of Michael King. She is a woman without music. Silence and estrangement are the ingredients of her world. She is the complete opposite of Michael and holds the seat of power as the lead-tenant. This is the special world of Clare Kelly where the house is her kingdom and the sofa is her throne. All she needs now are subjects to have authority over.

Michael enters the room, greets her, but only silence comes back at him. This is his first test of character. He asks her how her day was, and she replies with her only line in the film: I got the sack. A close-up shot shows Michael reacting to this. He has had the experience of being sacked from a job, and is a potential mentor who could teach her a few things about rising above unemployment. Instead, he decides to go into the kitchen and make a cup of tea.

The Inmost Cave

As Michael makes a cup of tea, Clare tests him for a second time by entering the kitchen, retrieving a packet of crisps from her cupboard and turning off the light, leaving him in darkness. It is a shadow projection of the worst aspects of her behaviour and a statement that a woman can either be a helper or a hindrance in a mans life. If the darkness could talk it would tell some sinister stories. Michael lets it ride for now.

The Ordeal

Clare sits on the sofa eating her crisps. She is waiting for Michael to respond to her offence. He joins her on the sofa, and we observe a complete lack of communication between them. Because of his refusal to retaliate, she gets up from the sofa and turns the television off. It is her television after all, so he doesnt think much of it. She takes out the vacuum cleaner from the cupboard and starts hoovering. This is the third test that she subjects him to by attacking his shoes with the suction head. She has gone too far. As she puts the hoover away, Michael pulls himself together and prepares to strike a counterblow. He calls her to attention, stands up to confront her and we look over his shoulder as he delivers his verbal attack by telling her he is moving into his new flat in Balham. A close-up shot of her face shows that she is being toppled from her position of lead-tenant.

The Road Back

He walks past her and then looks at her, showing her that he has passed the test of her ordeals and moved up the ladder of souls.There is a suggestion that there may have been a previous attraction on Clare's part, perhaps even curiousity. Michael dismisses it with a look, and returns to his ordinary world with his attitude in tact and the reward of being a property holder. As the door closes we see her standing alone, stuck in the special world. She has made an enemy out of an ally, and now she is presented with the bill. The pain of her experience serves as a fair warning to the audience not to choose the path of being a hindrance to a fellow human being.