My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117 (2002) User Reviews

Dark, disturbing, and painfully funny.

[supapete · 8/10 · 25 February 2003]

I've never really been a big fan of 'shorts' (the films, not the clothes) so it was always going to take an artist whom I really respect to convince me to actually buy one, and - as you've probably guessed - Chris Morris is such an artist. Possibly the most interesting comic around, if you take into account his media-shy persona and the controversy that surrounded the Brass Eye special a while back, this film marks his debut on this medium, and is a corker.

Revolving around a depressed man who (probably, but nothing is certain here) has gone insane due to self-loathing, and his relationship with the dog who lives in the house that he is looking after, the film inspires equal parts of horror, dismay, and hilarity. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like this, and if I have, I've never found it this entertaining. Really highly recommended for anybody who is interested in art which pushes at the boundries of medium, form, and genre.

great short film

[cabe13 · 8/10 · 6 April 2007]

the other comment was done by a complete fool. this short film by Chris Morris, originally from a sketch in his radio series Blue Jam is piece of highly interesting work to those who "get it". Many won't, which is frankly their problem, or more accurately their lack of imagination or intelligence. The film is not really about anything, it is more of modern surrealist painting in movie format. It's an enquiry into the nature of insanity and all relating things. In a way, it shouldn't be treated like you would treat other films, at least from a critical standpoint. You just have to ask yourself how it affected to you. What thoughts it conjured up. You can't compare it to anything or use conventional techniques for review such as the plot, dialogue etc. It simply has nothing in common with those things. If you're willing to open your mind and you have a vivid imagination then this short film will almost certainly be for you. If you think everything has a message, purpose, rightful meaning then you may as well just go to bed and not bother waking up.

viciously black bizzaro comedy

[framptonhollis · 7/10 · 19 April 2018]

From Chris Morris, who would later go on to direct the acclaimed comedy on terror 'Four Lions', this short film is...something else. It definitely isn't perfect, but it is so weird and depressing and scary and hilarious that I cannot help but totally embrace everything about it w/great enthusiasm. When I really think about it, this is among the most sad and deranged short films I have seen in quite some time, but it is also one of the funniest, and this mixture of humor, horror, and tragedy is really what makes this a mad masterpiece of surreal pitch-black comedy. It is bleak and sick and so so so so so so dark and I love it!

Funniest thing I've seen in quite a while!

[mesmeric · 9 May 2004]

I suppose some of the other reviewers here may think I am a really sick person, but I thought this was hilarious! Prior to this viewing, I had never heard of Chris Morris, probably because I live on the other side of the Pond, but I will seek out more.

I won't recap the content because others have already done so on this forum. My reactions to this material are quite different from others' reactions, however, and I encourage the reader to take a chance and see what their own reactions will be.

As a clinical social worker who has worked extensively with the chronic mentally ill, I was not offended by the portrayal of an obviously deranged person. Persons experiencing psychotic episodes involving command hallucinations, whether aural or visual, are human, and the content and logic of their experience, while bizarre, is recognizably human. You may recall something you once believed and later found to be false or inaccurate in some way. To the extent that this belief influenced your decisions at that time, you were sharing the same mechanism that causes a psychotic person to believe a dog is speaking to them or the television is blinking in some mysterious way that may or may not be revealing something important. The difference is in degree and, possibly, in the lack or over-abundance of certain brain chemicals.

I give this a 9/10.

I laughed Out Loud ...

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 3 May 2004]

... But then I do have a highly developed sense of humour . Did I tell you about the time when I was sitting at the breakfast table of the 2002 Greenpeace national skillshare conferance and the conversation got around to gay policemen ? Maybe some other time

It probably won`t come as much of a surprise that the people who didn`t like my sense of humour on that morning will detest the humour of Chris Morris . Okay I think he`s over rated myself and he often shoots himself in the foot by going out to shock rather than going out to make people laugh but with MY WRONGS 8245-8249 AND 117 Morris has got the balance right . If you`re some bleeding heart do-gooder you will find this grotesque , shocking and a blight upon the human race . If you`re an intelligent human being you might just laugh out loud at the scene on the bus , the scene at the park and the scene in the church . I know I did and I also know it`s not supposed to be a case study of mental illness so please watch it in the spirit as it was intended , and I hope to see more from Morris in the future

Good job all in all

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 17 July 2015]

"My Wrongs 8245-8249 and 117" is a 10-minute short film from 2002 written and directed by Christopher Morris. and it brought him his first BAFTA in. The second followed for "Four Lions" some years later, his most famous project. Today he is mostly busy with directing the successful political comedy show "Veep". The lead actor in this short film here is Paddy Considine, a BAFTA winning filmmaker himself, although mostly an actor. I have to say this short film was somewhat funny in a pretty odd manner. It is about talking dogs who are lawyers apparently, talking babies too with a pretty creepy touch to them and of course Considine's character who faces all these oddities. I probably would not count it among the best of the year really and probably not agree with the BAFTA win, but it's still a solid watch I guess. Recommended.

a twisted brainwrong...

[Jamesgraphics · 9/10 · 5 April 2003]

This is the debut film from satirist, surrealist comedian and cult phenomenon Chris Morris, whose fans have levelled criticism at the project as it is a reinterpretation of a story already featured in his dark, late-night sketch show 'Blue Jam'.

As a Morris fan myself, I was somewhat sceptical about the need for a retelling of this tale - a blackly comic piece about a man who is so depressed that he believes his dog is talking to him, and providing some frankly terrible advice.

So I'm happy to report that the film is indeed successful, at least for the most part, and this is largely due to Morris's skill as a filmmaker. The tone is stylish and experimental, and manages to breath new life into the story - Morris has clearly built upon what he started in his last TV series, 'Jam'. And as well as directing the film, Morris has also written the electro-ambient soundtrack, which interplays cleverly with the camerawork to create some neat moments.

However, some of the gags don't translate to the screen particularly well - and this is largely because cinema isn't the best medium to convey the protagonist's reasoning behind his erratic behaviour - described so effectively in the radio version. Therefore, if you plan to watch this film, I'd highly recommend listening to the original Blue Jam monologue on which it is based (included on the DVD now available), which provides some of the detail and il(logic) behind the character's actions.

Maybe next time then, a new story tailor-made for the screen would be more satisfying, but this is still an accomplished debut.

9/10

Genius

[dirk_diggler2 · 9/10 · 29 March 2006]

This is an ingeniously quirky short film. It may be slightly too strange for some viewers - the story and technique (in particular the sound) are barmy - but it cleverly succeeds in arresting the viewer's attention in its short space of time. The film creates a bizarre metaverse experienced from the point of view of Paddy Considine's lead character in which animals talk and think in more logical terms than their human counterparts. Obviously, we believe Paddy is slightly mad, leading to various scenes in which he comically finds it increasingly difficult to relate to the social etiquette he is expected to conform to.

Morris's directorial style makes it hard at times to laugh out loud - he refuses to allow his audience to dwell on "the funny bits" - but think about what you've seen and you'll probably wet yourself. This makes repeat viewings very rewarding, especially with such a sly, wink-wink denouement.

A dog-ugly short film

[jonnyhart · 1/10 · 28 February 2003]

Being something of an aspiring filmmaker myself, I thought I was in for a treat when I took home "My Wrongs..." (according to the deliberately vague DVD cover, I had purchased "a short film including scenes"). I should have known better really, and avoided this insipid (and often offensive) piece of twoddle.

The scene in the church is repulsive to watch (especially for those familiar with Morris's warped attitude towards paedophilia from his notorious TV series, Brass Eye) and serves no purpose other than to shock. How this film is labelled a comedy I will never understand.

The runner's commentary sounds like a novel idea in principle (having worked as a runner myself, it's often an interesting and uninhibited perspective on the filmmaking industry), however this is sadly not the case here. Instead, we are treated to some public schoolboy ranting about dogs on film, before concluding that there are no really great movies starring dogs. This is all very interesting, but not worth a single frame of celluloid.

To say that this film goes nowhere would be an understatement. It relies far too heavily upon its heightened style, at the expense of plot, character and dialogue, leaving the viewer strangely perturbed and unfulfilled. Its over-simplified message - that man should take responsibility for his actions - is both glaringly obvious and poorly illustrated.

The film does have its moments of pseudo-Kafkaesque surrealism, but ultimately, it fails to convince, to entertain, to enlighten and just ends up being irritating. If you want to see a really great piece of short filmmaking, I strongly recommend "Franz Kafka's It's A Wonderful Life", by Peter Capaldi.

Interesting & amusing but not that worthy of mention

[bob the moo · 3 August 2003]

A depressed and paranoid man is looking after his girlfriend's house and dog for a weekend. The dog assures the man that he is the man's lawyer and will be representing him in court next week. They go out for a walk where the dog leads him into a fight with duck's in the park and deceives him at a christening.

I'm not a big fan of Chris Morris, but I am always interested enough in his material to give it ago. Sometimes his unique visions of life are funny or just weird enough to be engrossing. Other times they are simply desperate attempts to offend – like a cry for attention or something. Here the sketch (for that is what it is) is an extended version of one taken from Blue Jam. I questioned the value of this film while I was watching it as I wondered why Morris hadn't just remade this as another sketch rather than going for a whole film.

Regardless of this it worked quite well if you like Morris' typically dark view on dark subjects. It isn't very funny, so don't get your hopes up too much in that regard, but it is interestingly compelling. His actual point is lost on me but the telling is interesting. Morris himself provides the voice of the man's lawyer/dog.

Overall this is an interesting way to pass 15 minutes although don't assume it is a laugh riot, for it isn't. Instead it is a comic look at schizophrenia and depression which works simply because you have to keep watching to see where it is going. In terms of a second viewing, I doubt I'd bother.

Sub jam Toss

[wj-mcgrath · 25 September 2007]

If Jam suddenly squatted down and did a massive turd My Wrongs would be the result.

Awful awful piece of film. It just had NO reason to exist. No story, no characterisation and most importantly no jokes. Paddy Considine is normally a great actor but he just wasn't on form here. Morrises voice talents were wasted. The only ray of hope was a brief (and wasted) vocal cameo from Phil Cornwell.

This was billed as comedy but it was just completely devoid of ANY humour. Go on My Wrong fans, tell me your favourite moment?

This from the man who brought us Brass Eye.