Shuttlecock (2019) – Short Film Review 

Streaming online for the prestigious London Film Festival Awards, nominated for Best Short Film (a category the public can vote on), Shuttlecock takes a chucklesome slice at male pride in sports with a sharp homo-erotic edge.

Carl (Tom Greaves) is the king of the court and his club. His badminton team all admire him, seeking advice and approval from him and his bulging biceps that they all secretly envy. Even stretching to the demeaning (privileged in their minds) lengths of applying his deodorant to show their adoration. Its a funny picture and the kind of absurdity that Shuttlecock, a masculinity satire from Tommy Gillard, revels in.

Carl and his badminton peers both seem to agree in considering himself the epitome of strength and dominance. That is until his safe space of comforting worship is disrupted with the arrival of Morgan (delightfully confident portrayal from Niall Kelly), Carl’s antipodal. Morgan’s clean-shaven, sleek frame and deft on-court technique all directly oppose the bulky, dominant Carl who’s technique is all in the power. He hits it hard. In these contrasts, Carls’ insecurities bloom in intelligently comedic fashion.

Competitive toxicity isn’t necessarily an under-looked theme with overt masculinity now commonly accepted to share some connection to insecurity, but Shuttlecock approaches it with a deft sleight of hand which is approachable, conscious, damningly funny and (crucially) subversive.

The loss of his beta worshippers to Morgan leaves an uncertain Carl seeking victory in the ‘charity’ tournament. A tournament where charity seems to be an afterthought, especially for Carl, who feels the desperate need to win, in the hope that it will allow him to reclaim his alpha role and prove he is the ‘better man’. 

Carl’s budding teammates aren’t the only people enamoured by the new mysterious member in Morgan. He himself is battling with a nagging Morgan shaped obsession in cleverly choppy sequences which are deranged (much like Carl) and hilariously absurd. Nevertheless, he can’t seem to get his elusive, quietly confident, consciously feminine figure out of his mind. 

Its the setting of the daunting changing rooms where the drama and tantalising sensuous realisations arise. Carl feels annoyance and confusion toward his attraction and odd perversion. Insecure overcompensations kick in with his futile attempts to destroy this part of himself. And its delightful symmetry which allows these ultimate preposterous attempts at outward masculinity to erupt in chortles from the sheer charm.

A 4:3 academy ratio weaves a timeless aesthetic in this very stylish comedy with moments of Wes Anderson flair. That timeless quality is an interesting one. There are no era indicators aside from old fashioned clothing, moustache snobbery, and no technology to speak of. This old fashioned sensibility allows the witty script to play with scornful disapproval of his wiry frame and lack of masculinity. Additionally, the testosterone-fuelled domination angst is an amusing juxtaposition with the less than stereotypically masculine nature of Badminton (coming from an avid competitive player). It’s the perfect sport to create this homo-eroticism. It’s these intelligent choices which allow for the best of Shuttlecock’s observations to shine.

Shuttlecock is playful and subtly thoughtful with brilliantly blatant home erotic tendencies making it a short to relish.

Shuttlecock is available now on the BFI Player

Toby