The term ‘Golden Child’ refers to someone well revered amongst peers and higher ups, the favourite within a community, yet it can be associated with negative connotations too. Always using the same person as a benchmark to drive others into emulating their behaviour creates jealousy rather than motivation. These issues have been derived from childhood and are affiliated with the title ‘Teacher’s Pet’, a student who could seemingly never do anything wrong. This also relates well with siblings, which is a theme alluded to in the short film Golden Child.
Directed by Bournemouth based creative Jamie Luke Milligan, Golden Child stars Harriet Perkins as Fi and Tom Kane as Toby who are brother and sister. Having both landed new jobs, Fi organises a celebratory family dinner at Toby’s flat. However, when she arrives to prepare, Fi finds her brother in an intoxicated state still suffering from the night before. With their parents already on the way, can they both get ready in time?
For what sounds like a scene from many comedic college flicks, I appreciate that Golden Child plays things straight. As someone who has been sober for 4 years in August, the film accurately replicated those wallowing hungover days where the last place you’d want to be is at a family event. I can’t help but laugh at some points when Toby is acting pathetic, though the serious tone prevents it from becoming a farce and maintains realism.
This accuracy also remains consistent with their sibling relationship. Granted, she goes above and beyond more than maybe my sister would have, but the dynamic of frustrated care on display feels genuine. They’re able to convey enough emotion to get me invested, and I wanted to see how the characters would further develop by the end. My one critique would be to have a little more depth to the characters during, but Milligan still achieves an intriguing narrative in a short runtime.
Altogether, Golden Child is a well-written, well-acted and well-produced short film providing an important insight on cultural themes prevalent yet not covered enough in the UK. Its minimalist and realistic style echoes the vision of my own work and I look forward to what comes next.