The Trap (2019)

Though she’s probably best known for “Game of Thrones”, I’ve seen Michelle Fairley in a few things, including on stage in Julius Caesar, and she is a formidable character actor and that stands out in this short feature. That said, though, the rest of this comes across as something of a short form draft of something that auteur Lena Headey had in mind for later. Though she has friends, “Michelle” lives a fairly solitary life until the arrival of the enigmatic “Joe” (James Nelson-Joyce). He comes from stock that’s rough round the edges but the pair immediately seem to click - much to the chagrin of her friend “Tony” (Steven Waddington) who only thinly disguises his infatuation, despite being married to "Sandra" (Larissa Murray) who cooks a mean chicken dinner. Just when we think we know how the land lies, though, something unexpected occurs and the dynamic between “Michelle” and “Joe” takes quite a twist. What happens next? There are the makings of something promising here, but in just thirty minutes we only really get a teaser and I left the proceedings entirely unsatisfied, as if I were to expect episode two next week. Perhaps Headey just asked her pals to help her out with her directorial debut on a suck it and see basis? Hmmm? Anyway, it’s worth a watch but it’s too incomplete for me.