In Kelly Campbell and Mark O’Halloran’s short film, An Encounter, two thirteen-year-olds, Stephen and Jay, decide to take a day mitching (ditching) from school. Mitching was Stephen’s idea, as he as something weighing on him. At the same time, Jay is just along for the adventure. Their journey takes them away from the city by an open marsh along the sea.
As the two lounge away by the seashore, a stranger approaches them. The stranger asked the boys if they’d seen his missing dog and if they would help look for him. Suspicious of the stranger, Stephen and Jay say very little. But soon, the frustrated Jay wanders off looking for the dog, leaving Stephen behind with the stranger.
“The stranger asked the boys if they’d seen his missing dog and if they would help look for him.:
Adapted from the James Joyce short story, An Encounter, this is one of those stories that will frighten you as a parent. This stranger picks up on Stevens’s body language and tentative personality during their conversation. He’s able to pick up that Stephen is a loner, particularly at home. The strangers soon begin breaking down Stephen’s apprehensions in hopes of taking him home.
An Encounter takes down a very somber path. Director Kelly Campbell sets the tone of this story brilliantly. She immediately establishes Steven as a troubled young man and contrasts him with the much more boisterous Jay. Then when the stranger arrives, we know exactly what his intentions are. Then from O’Halloran’s script, we see just how easy it is for the stranger to manipulate Stephen to do what he wants. The performance from the cast was outstanding and scary at the same time,
An Encounter is the most part, a simple story that says so much about how easy it is for children to be lured into compromising situations.
