Short Film: Jezebel

A film recommended by Billy, this short film was directed by Nick Phillips, released in 2017 and comes in at just over 10 minutes and is a very nice little short that plays on a couple of genre tropes in very subtle ways.

It starts off with Jezebel (Claire Dellamar) sat before her mirror (note she has a reflection) musing on why she does what she does – does it give her pleasure or only pain. She could well be talking about her career as a prostitute, or something more, but she recognises that – for a moment – she gets pleasure, she is not so alone.

We see three clients. The first is Rufus (Tyler Johnson) a large, gruff man who does not actually give his name, takes a drink and threatens to show her *what she really is*. Off screen we hear a sound like a bite. Next is Samuel (Brian Flaccus), a rich man – more willing to converse but a cynic when it comes to love – something for fools and women. Again, his fate is implied rather than shown explicitly.

blood at the mouth

Henry (Dylan Rourke) is a nervous young man. He bursts in to her apartment and immediately apologises – she confesses she was going to invite him in, a nice touch on the invitation trope that has been inverted. They actually talk and, in the conversation, Jezebel suggests it is better to not know who you are – if you know you can’t escape, “it looks back at you with your eyes and speaks to you with your voice.” This, again, was a nice take on reflections – making it a more psychological concern than a physical lack of reflection and fits with her scratched out eyes on the short's poster.

What will be the fate of the two? The short is embedded below and the imdb page is here.