THE FOOL'S MATE | Omeleto

A man tries to break up.


THE FOOL'S MATE is used with permission from Cian Llewellyn. Learn more at https://cianllewellyn.co.uk.


Fred and Holly have met up at the Nag's Head, an eccentric pub in London. They're casually dating and at a crossroads in their relationship, but hopefully for Fred, that's about to change -- he's there to break up with Holly, having met another woman he has fallen in love with. Holly, however, thinks Fred is about to propose, and she does anything to keep the conversation from getting serious, since she wants to keep things casual.

But when the pub's rules for required chess playing are enforced, Fred and Holly must play an impromptu chess match. And as the battle on the board matches the psychological battle between Fred and Holly, the ensuing match of wits may force the truth to come out.

Directed and written by Cian Llewellyn, this witty British short is a wry and offbeat entry in the romance category, detailing an encounter between two lovers with very different agendas and unable to talk about it openly. It deftly sets the board with each character's motivations and fears, pulls in slightly absurd complications and then neatly lets the gambit play out to much amusement.

Part of the film's fun is its authentic evocation of pub culture in England, where pubs play a beloved role in the social fabric of a neighborhood or community and take on a uniquely weathered patina and atmosphere over time. Likewise, the film has a warm, lived-in look and feel, evoking a strong sense of place. The story's particular pub -- the real-life historic Nags Head in London -- is more offbeat than most, and the film leverages the quirky setting to parlay what would be a fairly straightforward relationship two-hander into something zanier, funnier and more sideways than one would think.

Once Fred and Holly's secretly dueling agendas are set up, the pacing speeds along, buoyed by dense and witty dialogue, abetted by a cheekily dramatic music score and hitting a brusque stride as the characters work through a series of moves and countermoves. All of the storytelling's twists and turns are ably carried by the performances of actors Chris Lew Kum Hoi and Nell Barlow as the couple in question, who convey the awkward anxiety of the situation, trying to get to the truth of the situation -- or avoid it altogether.

A few wrinkles and complications make things increasingly sticky -- all of which are observed by a server who sees all, says little and implies plenty. As things build to a head, the result is more comedy of errors than romantic comedy. Ironic, cheeky and fast-paced, THE FOOL'S MATE may take its title from a play in chess, where the fewest moves to checkmake is possible only if the opening moves are absolutely terrible. But with the few final twists at the film's end, it proves that both players in this match of wits are particularly hapless -- both in chess and in love.