Action Men and Plastic Dolls (2011)

DIRECTOR: Chrysanthi Pierropoulou

With my website currently on the rise, I have been limited in writing reviews for films so far, but amidst all the Hollywood blockbusters and award contenders, there is also room for me to review smaller and lesser-known efforts.

During my time at Liverpool Hope University, I had the pleasure of working alongside many individuals who were determined to work hard and hope to achieve the career they most wanted.

One of those people was Chrysanthi Pierropoulou, who spent her three years at Hope doing Film Studies like me, although her other subject was Drama. The mixture of both modules has been significant in her commitment of breaking into the industry, with directing and screen-writing being her current ambition.

Last year, she made her directing debut with a 25-minute medium length film entitled Action Men and Plastic Dolls, which was put up on YouTube. The cast was a mixture of amateur and professional actors who were drama graduates, as well as some friends.

The film’s theme explores the dangers of damaged youth through eight episodic sequences….

  • CHILDREN & GAMES: Two siblings in their earlier 20s who are bitter towards their father for taking away their toys.
  • THE SENTIMENTAL DETACHMENT: A young businessman starts to become paranoid during a drinking session and reflects on his strict upbringing.
  • THE FIGHTER BOY: A young boxer tries to overcome his traumatic childhood during a session.
  • THE VAMPIRES: A boy and girl ignore abuse from their parents for wearing gothic makeup.
  • THE MEMORY BOX: A young woman looks through a box of memories following the loss of a loved one.
  • THE PERFECT DOLL: A young woman who works for her family business clearly hates the way her life has turned out.
  • THE ALIEN: A young man from foreign surroundings is abused and treated as an outcast.
  • PARENT’S VIOLENT PLAYGROUND: The group of character try to enjoy playtime until they are rudely interrupted by their parent’s arguing.

Though all the segments in the short contain different story-lines, they all share the same view of looking at psychological trauma, which Chrysanthi talked about during our recent discussions. She stated that it was something for new parents to look at, with the goal being to help young people become wiser and look back and comprehend their mistakes when they were older.

One factor with the exterior of the characters is that they are actually superheroes of life who have managed to overcome the abuse of their childhood and try to move forward with their lives. Each story which unfolds on screen is well-crafted by the debutant film-maker, who took inspiration from more experienced directors like Quentin Tarantino and Alejandro González Iñárritu during the making of this and obviously being influenced by films like Pulp Fiction and Amores Perros. It has also enabled her to work on the visual style alongside her editor Yiannis Traganidas, who makes a valued contribution in making the film work in terms of production detail. The opening title sequence is enough to show us that, as it tries to unsettle us through the use of dark colours for the gritty and eerie setting.

Traganidas also works well in the filming department, especially with the crisp close-up camera shots which convey the claustrophobic feel that these characters are in. It also allows the inexperienced actors to give solid and natural performances in front of the camera, showing the emotional torture that their characters are going through. The one segment which benefited from that was THE SENTIMENTAL DETACHMENT, which really appealed to me in the way its protagonist was portrayed with an effective performance given by the actor. The character’s confidence is completely ripped to shreds by his friend’s disruptive flirting towards his desired love interest, and this creates the emotional tension which threatens to overpower his mind. It is easily the standout segment of the eight.

But then again, all the segments are effective and have a point to make. While the plots of each segment are random, they all have a point to make with regard to how much the characters have suffered. CHILDREN & GAMES brings out the child in all of us when it comes to owning toys and being told to grow up, while the final segment PARENT’S VIOLENT PLAYGROUND really pushes the boundaries of what some children have to sadly witness when having fun. Prejudice is also a recurring theme during a couple of the stories, especially in THE VAMPIRES, which shows the point of view of the young man and woman being abused by their parents for the way they look but not having a care in the world. It is those type of situations which appeal to certain audiences who may have been through the predicaments before.

In conclusion, it is a worthwhile effort from Miss Pierropoulou, whose debut film should evoke some support particularly from its target audience in teaching us about the difficulties of childhood and bouncing back from it.

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