Zoë is a single mother who lives with her four children in Dartford. She is poor and can't afford to buy food. One day her old flame drives by and asks her to go on a date with him. Scared that he doesn't want to go out with her, she lies and tells him that she is just babysitting the kids. This will be her first date in years.
Direction
Arnold's unflinching social realism before Fish Tank.
Acting
Natalie Press's raw, unvarnished desperation.
Director
Andrea Arnold
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Andrea Arnold won the 2005 Oscar for Best Live Action Short with this—her second film after a decade working as a TV presenter.
The 'wasp' metaphor only fully lands on rewatch: Zoë herself is the trapped, stinging creature lashing out at her own children.
GB
