In the short film ‘L.A.T.E.’, director Martin Skarregaard follows the drama of a man who tries to cope with the loss of his family. While the film would have deserved a bit more work on the script and a bit more patience in acting, it manages to make one empathise with the character’s drama.
It’s not something we haven’t seen before, but in a way ‘L.A.T.E.’ is a case study of the average man archetype who cannot find the strength to pull himself out of such a drama and get over it. Love implies 100% dedication, which is where events from Martin Skarregaard’s short film are going – you cannot detach yourself from it furthermore that what you have dedicated yourself to 100%, you have assumed 100%. This seems to be the mechanism that triggers the drama in Ambrose’s (the main character) case, making him eventually blame himself and feel responsible for his family’s death.
There is one other thing that floats around the character: nobody seems to be truly caring about his drama; though a co-worker seems to be willing to help at a certain point, and Ambrose willing to talk, the co-worker’s phone starts ringing and she priorities answering it unconsciously, diminishing the importance and gravity of his sorrow. Ambrose is trapped with his sorrow and the least he could do that might make him feel a little better – talk about it – seems inaccessible.
We also found his chosen name interesting: ‘Ambrose’. The ambrose was considered the food of gods in antiquity and it was believed to be the most tasty and sweetest drink anyone could have imagined. It’s kind of what happens with the archetype we are presented to in ‘L.A.T.E.’, it’s how he would be described by most of his acquaintances.
The antithesis between Ambrose’s nature and his deep sorrow is in the end the most intense experience the public is served in this film. The question is: will Ambrose be able to escape his sorrow?
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