My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117

MY WRONGS #8245 - 8249 & 177

Director : Chris Morris

Year : 2002

Genre : Drama

Rating : ****

'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' is the first film to be directed by satirist Chris Morris, who is most famous for his acerbic and controversial TV programmes such as 'The Day Today', 'Brass Eye' and 'Jam'. The film is based on a short monologue from Morris'  earlier radio programme 'Blue Jam' which was unsuccessfully adapted as a sketch for 'Jam'. It was then re-imagined and released as a mini movie. While this short film is not in any way as controversial as Morris' later film, the hilarious but tragic 'Four Lions', 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' is just as surreal and thought provoking as both 'The Day Today' and 'Brass Eye'.

Paddy Considine plays an unnamed man who is looking after his friends Doberman. The man is mentally disturbed and imagines that the dog is speaking to him as his lawyer, completely influencing everything he does. The movie hints that the man has commited many crimes throughout his life and shows 4 wrongs on screen as well as a past mistake involving his family. As the movie progresses, the man's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, culminating in the interruption of a baptism in a church.

By the time 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' had been made, Chris Morris had been branded as 'The Most Hated Man On TV' due to an extremely abrasive episode of 'Brass Eye' discussing paedophilia in the media. 'Jam' hadn't been a huge success critically and it seemed that the heyday of Chris Morris, who was and still is considered one of the most important satirists in British culture, was over. However, 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' bought Chris Morris back into the frame, earning a  BAFTA award for best short film in 2002.

The greatest thing about 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' is the wonderful direction from Morris, which is simultaneously surreal and hilarious and also deeply dark and film - noir. With the help of extreme close ups and minimalistic music, he is able to convey insanity without being overly ridiculous with camera angles or pacing. Like most of his material, Morris knows how to get a point across without overtly showing it to us in black and white. With the help of Paddy Considine's brilliant, quietly unhinged performance and masterful animation on the doberman, he clearly shows that the man is hearing the dog without being too silly. It reminded me of the talking fox from 'Antichrist', funny but at the same extremely disturbing.

Just like 'Four Lions', 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117' has a dark underlying current which only really comes to light right and the end. It is clear that this man has had problems way before the doberman came along and that his problems will continue after the dog has left his life. He needs an authority figure constantly around him which damages his social life and making people believe that he is insane. He is not afraid to talk to the dog in public because to him, the dog is loudly speaking and he believes that everyone else can hear him. To me, this is Morris commenting on the way that people seem to have a strange, underlying darkness which may not be completely visible. It only takes one thing to drive someone over the edge, no matter how innocuous it may seem. This could possibly explain why criminals commit crimes without any motive or initiative.

If you are a fan of Chris Morris' material or surreal comedy in the vein of Python or Vic & Bob, then I am sure you will really enjoy 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117'. But, if you prefer simpler, straightforward humour, then the movie may fly right over your head. To truly get 'My Wrongs #8245 - 8249 & 117', I believe that you have to understand how Chris Morris' mind works, which is a volcano of surrealism, controversy and painful truths.