Sea Wall is a story told in monologue by a young man named Alex. But the film is so much more than that. Alex (played by Andrew Scott) begins by telling us the story of how his father in law, him, his wife, and his young child Lucy went out to vacation in the south of France. The story is utterly beautiful, as Alex goes off into deeply intellectual tangents, often wondering at this or that meaning, but ultimately coming back to the story of his vacation, or as it turns out later, his worst nightmare. The screen doesn't change for the entire duration of the film, which allows Alex to tell the story without distraction. His physical movements, voice, and soulful eyes are heartrendingly captivating and painful. There are many short films out there. But there are very few that can cause such a powerful catharsis and emotion as this one. I would definitely recommend you find a way to watch this, because it is worth every second.
11 Reviews
As real as it gets!
screenfav14 February 2012
Feeling like my stomach is tied in a knot and I can't breathe normally. Sounds bad I know... but I don't really feel bad. It's not that I can't react, I just... won't. I think I'm avoiding it! As if the slightest movement of my fingers or the sound of my voice would distract me and take me out of the world I've been living in for the last 34 minutes.
Hang on... Was it a dream?! Nasty things, dreams, they often feel pretty real! Anyhow, I was talking to a man... no... was I? Well, he was talking to me, that much I remember. He said his name was Alex...He was happy most of the time, but kinda lost in his thoughts - judging by the way he was moving his arms and walking about. Trying to make me see every memory that was sliding out of his mind at that moment. I think it was important that I didn't miss any details. I think those details were precious to him, for some reason. He wanted me to pay attention. He kept talking about Lucy and a couple of other people, whose names I can't recall, but I'm pretty sure he repeated them a few times. OK, a blank spot here. Something about travelling... The dishwasher dresses... God... Random stuff. Wait! That's when something changed.
Ah, I'm telling you it was a dream, that's why the atmosphere keeps changing in my mind. Thank God, we neither changed locations in there nor did people popped in out of nowhere... you know all those non-linear weird dream routes. Nothing of the sort. It was just Alex talking to me, simple as that.
Back to the change I told you about... Well, I felt a considerable amount of stress, like the room was suddenly smaller and the oxygen levels were lower than before. I think Alex felt the same, but he carried on with his story. After a while it all went black.
What do you think? It must have been a dream, everything fits... I don't want to do anything now; maybe it's wrong that I'm even speaking to you. Dreams fade away quickly and I'm so afraid that in a couple of hours I won't remember. It wasn't a nightmare, despite the awful part where Alex & I both felt this pressure on us. Every time I have a nightmare I want to wake up, but I can't find the way out. This time I didn't want to - I wanted to stay. I'll go and take my notebook and write down the bits I still remember. My only concern now is finding the way in. The door is still there and I won't take my eyes of it. What am I, a fool? Of course I'll take notes. Save what I can. I'll keep the picture clear and what I lived, alive.
I'm messing with you. With my head too. I was sitting in my chair, but I wasn't tired enough tonight to actually fall asleep there. It wasn't a dream, obviously. I wish it were though! Because sometimes people have the same dreams. I'd give anything to give you all the chance to see what I saw.
Don't let it slip away. Say hi to Alex from me. Would you please tell him "Thank you" too? Now, when you get back, you might be as troubled and excited as I am. As confused, optimistic, sad, astonished, changed, enlightened and grateful. Don't be scared, we'll figure it out. We can't know everything now but it doesn't mean we won't know one day... I believe we will.
Hang on... Was it a dream?! Nasty things, dreams, they often feel pretty real! Anyhow, I was talking to a man... no... was I? Well, he was talking to me, that much I remember. He said his name was Alex...He was happy most of the time, but kinda lost in his thoughts - judging by the way he was moving his arms and walking about. Trying to make me see every memory that was sliding out of his mind at that moment. I think it was important that I didn't miss any details. I think those details were precious to him, for some reason. He wanted me to pay attention. He kept talking about Lucy and a couple of other people, whose names I can't recall, but I'm pretty sure he repeated them a few times. OK, a blank spot here. Something about travelling... The dishwasher dresses... God... Random stuff. Wait! That's when something changed.
Ah, I'm telling you it was a dream, that's why the atmosphere keeps changing in my mind. Thank God, we neither changed locations in there nor did people popped in out of nowhere... you know all those non-linear weird dream routes. Nothing of the sort. It was just Alex talking to me, simple as that.
Back to the change I told you about... Well, I felt a considerable amount of stress, like the room was suddenly smaller and the oxygen levels were lower than before. I think Alex felt the same, but he carried on with his story. After a while it all went black.
What do you think? It must have been a dream, everything fits... I don't want to do anything now; maybe it's wrong that I'm even speaking to you. Dreams fade away quickly and I'm so afraid that in a couple of hours I won't remember. It wasn't a nightmare, despite the awful part where Alex & I both felt this pressure on us. Every time I have a nightmare I want to wake up, but I can't find the way out. This time I didn't want to - I wanted to stay. I'll go and take my notebook and write down the bits I still remember. My only concern now is finding the way in. The door is still there and I won't take my eyes of it. What am I, a fool? Of course I'll take notes. Save what I can. I'll keep the picture clear and what I lived, alive.
I'm messing with you. With my head too. I was sitting in my chair, but I wasn't tired enough tonight to actually fall asleep there. It wasn't a dream, obviously. I wish it were though! Because sometimes people have the same dreams. I'd give anything to give you all the chance to see what I saw.
Don't let it slip away. Say hi to Alex from me. Would you please tell him "Thank you" too? Now, when you get back, you might be as troubled and excited as I am. As confused, optimistic, sad, astonished, changed, enlightened and grateful. Don't be scared, we'll figure it out. We can't know everything now but it doesn't mean we won't know one day... I believe we will.
Beautiful.
kkthepanda2 June 2012
Heart wrenching, beautiful, and almost scarily real, Sea Wall is a film I would recommend to anybody. Alex's story is hilarious, gritty, heartfelt and poignant, staying with you long after the screen goes black.
The reality of this film is no doubt the most glorious thing about it. Andrew Scott delivers his lines with such pained honesty that you don't see an actor, you don't see a film, you just see a man. A kind, thoughtful and ordinary man. That's just it, though. Within Alex, you see yourself, and the cold hard fact that it could be you is enough to make anybody with a kid cry. It's just so real. For half an hour, it's just you and Alex. No music, no sets, nothing but one man, and his words. This is a sensational film that hits home like a punch in the gut and will stay with you forever.
The reality of this film is no doubt the most glorious thing about it. Andrew Scott delivers his lines with such pained honesty that you don't see an actor, you don't see a film, you just see a man. A kind, thoughtful and ordinary man. That's just it, though. Within Alex, you see yourself, and the cold hard fact that it could be you is enough to make anybody with a kid cry. It's just so real. For half an hour, it's just you and Alex. No music, no sets, nothing but one man, and his words. This is a sensational film that hits home like a punch in the gut and will stay with you forever.
Breathtaking
amyaw9522 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Sea Wall will stay with you for the rest of your life.
The phenomenal Andrew Scott brings Simon Stephens' devastatingly lovely script to life with gentle fragility and painful honesty.
Scott and Stephens are a match made in heaven; the delicate tenderness and fond, nostalgic warmth of Stephens' writing is matched only by the quiet, heartwrenching beauty of Scott's performance. Together, they will break your heart and leave you numb. Life goes on, but every time you see a little girl wearing a cardigan, or a grandfather walking hand in hand with his granddaughter, Sea Wall will cross your mind, and leave in its wake an inescapable sense of grief.
Sea Wall is a truly astounding, mesmirising piece of work; to all who were involved in its creation, a resounding 'very, very well done'.
The phenomenal Andrew Scott brings Simon Stephens' devastatingly lovely script to life with gentle fragility and painful honesty.
Scott and Stephens are a match made in heaven; the delicate tenderness and fond, nostalgic warmth of Stephens' writing is matched only by the quiet, heartwrenching beauty of Scott's performance. Together, they will break your heart and leave you numb. Life goes on, but every time you see a little girl wearing a cardigan, or a grandfather walking hand in hand with his granddaughter, Sea Wall will cross your mind, and leave in its wake an inescapable sense of grief.
Sea Wall is a truly astounding, mesmirising piece of work; to all who were involved in its creation, a resounding 'very, very well done'.
Just emotions
LaTipitina31 October 2018
So you might know what it is about at this point...
Calyq2 July 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This is such a good film (play?). Short, just one actor, a heartbreaking story, yadda, yadda, just watch it. But I must say, on the very last minute, Alex (played by the MAGNIFICENT Andrew Scott,) whom has not been able to cry himself, briefly describes how his wife is now walking about, so broken, she resembles a walking dead - and he immediately lets out this one profound sob (just ONE lone sob) while covering his eyes...took my breath away.
Simply lovely!
cay_5_8417 May 2020
Brilliant actor, beautifully written script. I have been a big fan of Andrew Scott since seeing him in an episode of Garrow's Law. You know the actor is wonderful when just his stares and facial expressions, not his lines, can bring you to tears. But this, this was just something else. It is written beautifully. It moves slow, but the way Andrew delivers this, you hang on his every single word waiting for what is to come next. Definitely worth it!
Pretty damn disappointing.
Avwillfan8920 May 2020
Andrew Scott is such a great actor. His body language, delivery of lines and emotional connection to the parts he's playing are a joy to watch.
It's just too bad the material he's been given here is so lacklustre that I ended up feeling a sense of frustration when it ended. You can do a lot of things when the camera is pointing at one person - in the case of Scott. But the stories are unfinished, the tension doesn't add up and secrets are essentially left unrevealed, leading to a disappointing finale.
The same can be said for The Hope Rooms, another short featuring Scott. The actors were good and ready to make a brilliant short film, but it never really got to that mark for me.
It's just too bad the material he's been given here is so lacklustre that I ended up feeling a sense of frustration when it ended. You can do a lot of things when the camera is pointing at one person - in the case of Scott. But the stories are unfinished, the tension doesn't add up and secrets are essentially left unrevealed, leading to a disappointing finale.
The same can be said for The Hope Rooms, another short featuring Scott. The actors were good and ready to make a brilliant short film, but it never really got to that mark for me.
Years and years and heartbreak
sanspot-0952031 March 2021
I have watched this short years ago and it keeps coming back to me. It pops up in my mind out of nowhere. I think it's one of the most underrated yet most beautiful performances of contemporary cinema. Andrew Scott's performances in this and in Hamlet are equally, breathtakingly, heartbreakingly gorgeous.
I personally did not like it too much
Horst_In_Translation28 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Sea Wall" is a British 33-minute live action short film from 2012. The writer and director is Simon Stephens and his co-director is Andrew Porter. The star here is certainly lead actor Andrew Scott (Moriarty from "Sherlock"), who is actually also the only actor in here. It is a monologue from start to finish, Alex tells us a story about his life/love and we are supposed to listen to it. Sadly, this story suffers from several lengths and Scott once again proves that he has a tendency to go over the top occasionally as he already did on other projects. I would not even say that it is the general approach here that I did not like as for example I really love James Whitmore's Oscar-nominated monologue as Harry Truman from the 1970s, but this one here feels like it has relatively little authority and relevance. I do not see the appeal and I think it is vastly overrated. There are more bad moments than good moments and no matter how desperately it tries to deliver in terms of simplicity, it just isn't working out. Watch something else instead.
Blessedly Short
proteus684716 May 2020
Andrew Scott is the latest in a line of eccentric, tic-ridden actors who inspire novelty-show enthusiasm until people realize that an imitation of Tourette's is not an acting style. His Moriarty was merely silly; his Hamlet was unwatchable. Viewing his performance in Sea Wall is like walking through a swarm of midges. The piece itself is a trifle: a small tragic anecdote inflated by gaseous references to God that do not succeed in making it rise.
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