Lonely hearts
Back in the "good old days" when we had to make our own entertainment, how we enjoyed bull baiting. In these hi tech empowered days we have reality tv. Into the mix of Celebrity Big Brother Love Island, et al, we now have "Lonely Hearts". Will you find love and companionship over the next 3 days ?
Five characters, isolated, pressured, tasked, and above all, watched constantly,
Donny, the trendy vicar and Carol, the emergent widow as the older generation are sharing with the youngsters, Kirsty, a Geordie lass, Freddy, an Essex geezer and Claire, a doe eyed ingénue.
Even as they arrive and set up, Patricia, the director, leaves no doubt to the viewers she has a hidden agenda, but even she has to deliver to the money people "upstairs"
The wannabe celebrities don't so much drive towards a conclusion as head towards it like a car on a sheet of ice.
The production values on this "limited budget" film from the prolific Trash Arts people lend themselves admirably to the locale and set up, confident and steady characterizations by all the actors carry the scenes along making this an involving study of how much people would push for their 15 minutes of fame and how much they would let themselves be pushed. Even so, in amongst the tasks, the pairings and the arguments, the most frightening part is when the participants have to tell the truth about themselves.
Of course, a twisted and twisty idea like this must end unhappily, and it does, big time. Hard to imagine anyone watching this wanting to sign up for the next episode.
But never underestimate public taste.