Larry (Calvin Crawley) wants to do something different before his life ends. But as he heads out into the wilds of Skye to commune with the natural world, a chance meeting with Dale (Kevin Walls) could change things.
Filmed completely on location and outside, Hugo Andre’s second feature film as writer/director offers an insight into one man ‘tired of life’ and another who lives on the fringes of it.
It’s halfway through the film until we meet another soul in couple Dean (Hugo Andre) and Yasmin (Izzy Harradine). They seem a little off and unlikely types to go on a beach holiday in the Scottish Highlands.
Larry has made his living writing novels and living through the excitement of their plots, while living an existence of boredom. His attempts to get on alone fail miserably.
This is a film about connection, survival, and assumptions. Dale, the meat-eater, is happy to think about hunting the red deer, but vegan Larry seeks out plant-based alternatives for all foods.
This feel-good, almost supernatural fable only really missteps with Andre’s own character, who seems a little out of place within the story, but sure, he ‘likes to talk’ and that’s important later.
Happy As Larry is an ironic title, with Larry’s unhappiness the catalyst for his retreat from the daily grind. We never really feel we get under his skin other than knowing his name and that he writes, but it doesn’t really matter.
This film made me recall some elements from the Irish fable Into The West, where father and sons dealt with grief and loss, but Happy As Larry is more slow, subtle, and sensitive, as well as allowing humour to drip through.
Happy As Larry can be seen along with over 60 other shorts and features by purchasing a Breeze Online pass here: https://londonbreezefilmfestival.com/purchase-pass/, live from midnight 21 Oct to midnight 2 Nov.