Following in the footsteps of yesterday’s short film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, comes The Swan – another mini-movie adaptation of a Roald Dahl story. As with the previous offering, The Swan is new to Netflix today, is written and directed by Wes Anderson, and stars Rupert Friend and Ralph Fiennes.
The film follows the story of a young birdwatcher named Peter Watson, who is bullied and attacked by two older boys called Ernie and Raymond. During the course of the story, Peter is tied to some train tracks and treated terribly by his tormentors.
Utilising the same direct-to-camera storytelling technique seen in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Swan is another captivating tale which is easy to get drawn in to. The film runs a mere 17-minutes in length, which feels like no time at all, and within this period it takes the audience on a harrowing journey which has more than a couple of dark moments.
Yep, this is a dark tale, which is also (sadly) inspired by an actual event. So, while The Swan is a great little film (more about that in a moment) do be warned, it isn’t one for very young children.
In fact, none of these Wes Anderson-directed short films are aimed at very young children, as they are based on Roald Dahl stories written with young adults in mind. And when I say “these Wes Anderson-directed short films” I’m referring to yesterday’s release of The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, today’s release of The Swan, as well as tomorrow’s The Rat Catcher, and Saturday’s Poison.
In total, Anderson is behind four Dahl shorts. They will be appearing on Netflix throughout the week.
Anyway, back to The Swan and despite the dark edge to the tale, which some may find a little triggering, this short film is another example of the perfect marriage between Dahl’s imagination and Anderson’s creativity. The writer/director takes what Dahl put on the page and finds a way to bring it to life using uncomplicated visual techniques.
Large parts of the story are told with actor Rupert Friend (the main narrator of this film) wandering around maze-like structures, made out of wheat, hay, and bulrushes. These mazes help to frame the screen, keeping any distractions out, and allow the audience to focus purely on what is being said.
Every once in a while, sets are moved around, secret exits are utilised to help move the story from one scene to the next, and camera angles are altered to mix things up a little. All the changes are very simple, yet they make a huge difference in keeping things visually interesting.
At no point during The Swan’s 17-minute runtime does the film sag or run out of momentum. It keeps on ticking along rather nicely, as it pushes ever on toward its conclusion.
As for the conclusion itself, The Swan does suffer from the same problem that befell The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, so be aware of this. The final moments don’t feel quite as satisfying as what came before, and the whole thing feels like it ends a little too abruptly.
However, this doesn’t impact the build-up or the sheer inventiveness of what Anderson achieves prior to the finale. The Swan remains a strong piece, even if it does struggle to deliver the landing, so the focus really should be on how well the director brings everything together.
The Swan continues to prove Anderson is the right director to take on Roald Dahl stories. His visuals flourishes and filming techniques are a real treat, and the cast he assembles are all excellent and they understand the assignment completely.
I look forward to the next entry in this film series, and hope it maintains the same consistency and quality. After two short films, this is already shaping up to be a nice little collection of pictures.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this review on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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