Cyberbully (2015)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

As Good As It Gets

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Casey (Maisie William) is any other 16 year old girl, who spends everlasting time on social media .However one night an anonymous  online hacker takes control of everything she assumed she had management of and  torments her to admit 3 things. Whilst appearing to be the worst Cyber- bully, she will ever come across in her lifetime .The short thriller arises moral panic frequently  for example how easy it is for teenagers to hack into anything they desire , when the internet should be safe. As well as the devastation of how one message can accumulate a ridiculous amount of trolls, which then leads on to other matters ...Cyberbully shows hidden messages which brings self reflection to the audience. Overall  I like the fact that it was only 1 hour long  but it was able to bring so much tension between Casey, her speaking screen and yourself .

See, indie movies fall under two categories: artsy, preachy, and empty or interesting, cool and fulfilling. Cyberbully is under the second category. See the reason is because this movie actually understands the issue its addressing unlike the other Cyberbullying movie that I can't stand, and not only that but the entire movie is set inside one room, with one actress: Maisie Williams, who gives a fantastic performance! Gripping, interesting, and an overall good film, and best of all shines a good light on its issue. Its a shame Ms Williams is not in more films because she is a great actress, especially here. In this movie, she talks to a computer program for most of it, and its a very impressive performance. So watch it, but you need to be mature to watch it, a boat ton of cursing lies ahead, but also a well written script.

Cyberbully is a surprisingly effective, well-paced thriller considering the small world issues it faces and the small world environment in which it takes place. Within only five minutes, I was hooked. First off the bat, Maisie Williams was startlingly good as Casey, the film's only real actress, and she carries the short film on her young shoulders. She wanes between hysterical and depressed and upset with talent that escapes her more high profile Game of Thrones co- stars. The direction is superb - the film is as taut as a wire for most of its first half.However, where the film's best and worst assets are is in its screenplay. For the first 45 minutes or so, I was captivated by the interplay between Casey and her hacker. Then when he begins goading her into committing suicide, I was taken out of the film and never got back in. Had the film concluded with the hacker being a suicide victim's father, I would have been much happier with it. Instead, it goes on and on, and whilst the conclusion was quite effective, once the hacker's motives became too dark and convoluted, it was hard to remain as engrossed as I was earlier.Overall, Cyberbully is an important film, tackling its subject matter with strength and poise, and is carried by strong direction and an amazing performance from Maisie Williams.

This short drama was promoted mainly off the attraction of Maisie Williams (she of Game of Thrones fame) and it was the reason I came to it. I wasn't sure quite what the plot was, beyond the title laying out the subject area, and it was a nice surprise to find that it was several things, and because of this, they all worked pretty well. On the face of it we have a drama where two characters communicate across a computer – one of whom we do not see, the other being the main character Casey. This starts slowly, and at first I was struggling with watching characters type to one another, but it got better once the text became voice chat, and the plot started to unfold.Although it has issues that are not really resolved and did bug me a little, mostly the plot works. The elements where I felt I was just being asked to "go with it" were not always perfect, but it is the movement of the viewer within the plot that makes it engaging. Our sympathies change around slightly through the hour – not really twists and turns as such, but it does move well. This working allows the drama to do something else – which is to be a social message too, but to be one in a way that works and doesn't have people turning off because they feel like they are being preached at. It is a fine line at times, but mostly it manages to stay on the right side of it to produce a topical drama which stands as a cautionary tale that makes one thing about the issues.The drama keeps it from being too heavy handed, and shifting the viewer round encourages thought – not only of the drama, but of the subjects, which in turn then helps the social message aspect hit home more effectively. I am old enough not to have had to deal with the internet while at school, but I do feel for those who are born into that because it is so easy to have anonymous people tear at you for the sake of it; people like to label others trolls, but as with this drama, often just the culture of cruel comments and sarcasm from "regular" people is just as damaging.The cast is limited to a handful of people, with Williams being the only person really in it for longer than a few scenes – indeed I don't think she is ever really off the screen since the whole film is in real time and plays out entirely in her bedroom. She is excellent; delivering a lot with her face and really getting into her character – it is not easy to hold the film up in this way, particularly when you are alone and acting at a computer screen, but she does it very well and contributes to making the plot work by virtue of her character. Of the others it is worth mentioning Haruka Abe. Although she only has a few scenes in videos online, she convinces at being cheerful and likable, while also being naïve, but more importantly she sells the change in her pretty well without over playing it; it is a small role but an important one and she does it well. Cyberbully isn't perfect as a drama, but it works better than I expected and moves the viewer around nicely as well as being reasonably gripping. The social aspect benefits from this, as it delivers a thoughtful cautionary tale and advice, but avoids being preachy or alienating – which is a difficult thing to do, so kudos to it for that.