Touched By A Stranger

“No kissing on the mouth, and I don’t like being fingered!” So Becky lays down terms of business when withdrawn and quiet Gary picks her up on the run-down trading estate that is the stomping ground for the nightly hawking of her wares.

Gary is not only silent – barely short of creepily so – he seems emotionally needy. Both characters are convincingly hewn. As they get down to basics on the back seat, something happens. We’re not sure what it was but it wasn’t comfortable for Becky. She puts him in his place.

He goes for a beer. She picks up a regular client. We watch Gary as he sits in the car and cries. Then at daybreak, as she finishes work, he follows her...

This well-made short packs an emotional ending that is entirely unexpected. It points at the goodness in everyone, even in the unlikeliest of places.