• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022Earlybird Deadline
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022Earlybird Deadline
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

Mical: Biopic On One Of Britain’s Early Dyslexia Experts

Indie Shorts Mag Team by Indie Shorts Mag Team
12 Dec 2020
in Reviews
0
Mical - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

A boy who can’t spell his own name right. A student who is brilliant with a 147 to boast of for his IQ. A child who has the unconditional love and fierce determination of his mother to help him overcome his problems. And a school that can’t seem to understand its own pupil. 

These are not different characters. They are only the facts of Mike’s life, mere snippets of an extraordinary life, shared in fact, by Mike Jones and his mother, Pat Jones.

Yew Weng Ho’s film is a rewind to the 70s. Not so distant when one thinks of it.  Somewhere in Bristol, Pat Jones (Jayne Lunn) is enduring, and poorly, her child’s credibility being shred apart. A moment dreaded by all parents, but worse when it comes from a place of half-hearted, dismissive understanding. As the school’s principal blames the mother for not trying hard enough and her child for not being bright enough, it’s enough to make the audience root for them already. 

MWnIGsE - Indie Shorts Mag
ADVERTISEMENT
Mical - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

That the education system fails us all at some point is by now a well-established fact, but what sets Mical apart is that it goes after the sheer lack of acknowledgement by the society at large towards dyslexic children. Even when the film primarily focuses on Mike and his mother, often interplaying between the roles to see who is the more deserving of the film’s narrative, it showcases everything else that is going wrong, but not acknowledged. A father calling his son a slow learner while his classmates bullying him and labelling him stupid, there’s enough happening in Mike’s life. Thankfully, by the midpoint, when Ho allows his character to have his first real breakdown, we are given the opportunity to feel the catharsis of it too. 

Malcolm Duffy provides a screenplay that highlights what Pat undergoes to help her child find his footing when the schools and teachers turn unhelpful. A mother’s resolute effort in ensuring that her ward has the benefits of a level playing field is worth several minutes on the screen and Lunn earns it. Darius Shu, whose camera lingers effectively to bring the world of the 70s to light (credits to the art director Wyndham Harris), makes us aware of the angst and hurt of being bullied for not fitting in. William Biletsky plays Mike convincingly and the camera clearly loves him. There’s an earnestness to his performance that makes Mike endearing.

Mical - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

While the film opts for a very linear narrative, giving the audience its expected payoff, it nevertheless hits somberly when the real Mike and Pat are revealed. After all, these are the only known faces of the countless others still struggling with the same problems. It might have been the 70s and somewhere in Bristol, but in 2020, plenty continue to struggle along this path. 

Yew Weng Ho’s Mical is an important, sociological biopic of a woman and her son, but primarily a mother, whose determination and belief has revolutionized the dyslexic world in her own unique way.

#ShortFilmReview: Mical: IQ 147 and yet called stupid. Click To Tweet

Watch Mical Short Film

Mical: Biopic On One Of Britain’s Early Dyslexia Experts
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
3.5

Summary

 

Tags: ReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Day Zero: For Anyone Who Has Loved & Lost

Next Post

A Gist of SEO and Content Marketing for Your Film’s Website

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Related Posts

Santi - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Santi: Grappling With Not Belonging

25th June 2022
The Atomic Spawn - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

The Atomic Spawn: Nuclear Testing and Other Things Beyond Control

25th June 2022
Next Post
A Gist of SEO and Content Marketing for Your Film's Website - Indie Shorts Mag

A Gist of SEO and Content Marketing for Your Film's Website

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Featured Post

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Youtube Vimeo

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmReview: Santi: Home is somewhere. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Atomic Spawn: Nuclear test results are coming home to roost. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Allende: Shame is a deadly thing. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SpportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Something Behind The Walls: Something is eating everything hollow. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Sharing: It is a bittersweet thing. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Code Of Family: Age is the number of years of experience. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Where’s Lilli? Is A Tale About Finding Inspiration & Conquering Fears

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Last Dance: There 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 be someone behind you.. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Out Of Place: Sublime Depiction Of Migrant Struggle. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio. 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilm

© 2015-2022 Indie Shorts Mag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TV
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review

© 2015-2022 Indie Shorts Mag.