Rob Munday
Set in the regimented world of competitive fighting, The Bends is an engaging 14-minute short looking to immerse its audience in the world of its main character as she grapples with one of the biggest decision of her life. Directed by Tom Campbell, who came-up with the story with lead actor and real-life MMA fighter Annie Thatcher, despite the confrontational nature of the setting, The Bends is a surprisingly subtle piece more interested in internal struggles than physical ones.
Described by its creators as an “impressionistic docu-drama hybrid that lightly dramatises the truth of real people, events and settings”, with such an authentic and intimate storyline it came as no real surprise when Campbell explained that achieving this was the result of an 18-month research period into the Melbourne amateur scene. “In this time I observed and listened to stories—particularly of the pressures placed on women in the sport, but also the unusual ways they manifest that are quite unique to Mixed Martial Arts”, the director explains. Collaborating with screenwriter Adam Spellicy, Campbell took the narrative to the next level when he met Thatcher and a “journey of intimate collaboration” began.
Annie Thatcher lead actor in The Bends and real-life MMA fighter.
It’s evident very early on in The Bends that is a film intent on showing a conflict between the personal and professional sides of its lead character. In the opening seconds of the film we’re plunged into the Octagon alongside Annie (Thatcher) as she competes with an opponent, before being thrown into her domestic life as we witness her woken by her cat and doing her laundry. It’s an effective contrast and one that sets the scene for the remaining 12-minutes of storyline, but the real conflict of the narrative comes at the two-minute mark, when we discover the film’s protagonist is pregnant. From here on out, Campbell and Spellicy inject an extra level of complexity into their plot as Annie’s discovery threatens not only her sense of control, but her self-identity as well.
As producer Alexandra George perfectly explains: “To me, Annie has always represented one of the most enduring questions a woman will ask herself: whether or not to have children, and at what cost?”. Adding that our takeaway from the short shouldn’t revolve around “whether or not Annie chooses to fight”, but instead “what the mere possibility of change could teach her”. It’s a clever angle to add to the story, as without it, the narrative would just feel too specific. Instead there’s what George describes as a “palpable” level of relatability flowing through The Bends – you might not know what it’s like to experience an MMA fight, but you can certainly empathise with the life-changing decision Annie is about to make.
“Our script became our ‘blueprint’ but ultimately the film was about finding the moment within a moment and grounding it in truth”
Although the narrative here is obviously key in the success of The Bends, there’s some impressive production employed to bring the story to screen. Describing the filmmaking approach as “a kind of slow cinema”, Campbell and his crew used their script as a “blueprint” to get the most from the story and the cast of non-actors. Revealing that they worked “nimbler, looser and lighter” than they usual do, the director admits the short was focused on “finding the moment within a moment and grounding it in truth”.
To achieve this, the filmmaker shot The Bends in the same settings they found their cast and often filmed them going about their everyday routines to achieve that docu-drama feel. Despite keeping things loose and relying on a level of improvisation during production, the authenticity of the world and the engaging nature of storyline is a true testament to Campbell, George, Spellicy and the rest of the crew. The film ends on quite a simple note and though you can barely see Annie’s face at some point the weight of her decision radiates from the screen and lingers long after the credits have finished rolling. There’s a lot of talent involved in The Bends and we’re eager to see what they all do next.