London. It's Christmas. Tom is a timid loner who cuts keys in a dry-cleaners in Soho. He's dominated by his extroverted boss, Mick, who habitually cracks on to his female clientele. One customer, Eva, is particularly unimpressed by Mick's behaviour. When Tom tries to apologise, she gives him the cold shoulder. Wanting emotional contact, Tom tries unsuccessfully to call his estranged father. Desperate, Tom takes drastic action.
Acting
Russell Tovey's trembling restraint before the explosion.
Direction
Wimpenny squeezes dread from fluorescent laundromat lighting.
Writing
Every awkward silence screams what dialogue cannot.
Director
Adam Wimpenny
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot in a real Soho dry-cleaners over two freezing December nights; Tovey kept his shivering for the character.
Released the same year as 'Fish Tank' and 'A Single Man' — part of a wave examining broken masculinity through intimate, economically framed stories.
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