Céline Roustan
Trapped at home because of a broken leg, Sally starts swiping, hoping for a human connection to cure her loneliness. After matching with Richard, they start talking on the phone and quickly develop a seemingly real connection… up until Richard indirectly asks her for money. Was this a genuine connection or has it all been a scam? S/W alum Lucy McKendrick (My Shepherd) joins forces with another alum Charlie Polinger (A Place To Stay) to direct Fuck Me, Richard, a cat and mouse game about isolation and instant gratification, with a surprising power dynamic that makes the film incredibly engaging.
“I was consuming a lot of scammer content”
Penned by McKendrick, she confessed that she was “consuming a lot of scammer content” when she wrote the film and had developed an interest in the “psychology of the scam targets”, after realizing that in some instances, instead of being victims, some people “were actually benefiting from their interactions with the scammers” in an “unspoken transactional relationship”. Adding to that the isolation, loneliness and desperation for intimacy and romance of our modern society, she touches on all those themes through her main character Sally, who is not as oblivious and she lets on. McKendrick also credits the short stories of Ottessa Moshfegh and Mary Gaitskill as inspirations for her main character.
McKendrick and Polinger chose an approach that would capture the immediacy of online dating, leaning “into classical romance tropes”, while also “exploring a completely delusional relationship”. Tonally they also opted for a dry, dark humor that would make the film sharply entertaining instead of melodramatic, especially after the isolation that the lockdowns have intensified. The film is experienced through Sally’s prism, as the directors aim to immerse us in her headspace. From the images, the construction of the frames, the colors and the camera movement to the pacing of the film, it all recreates the emotional roller coaster she embarks on. “We wanted to take people on this journey with her and create a psychological snapshot of the kind of deeply lonely person who might fall for a love scam, or even willingly seek one out…”, they added. From her initial loneliness and boredom, to the excitement of this new relationship as she also physically gets better, the film constantly echoes her state of mind.
“We didn’t have a ton of film stock, so we had to be somewhat restrained in our shot design, which ended up being a welcome creative constraint.” – the directors discuss shooting on 35mm
Shot on 35mm, Fuck Me, Richard film has a captivating visual aesthetic that complements how Sally sees her surroundings. While the directors made all the creative decisions to immerse the audience in Sally’s new relationship, it is Sally, always on screen, that carries the film’s effectiveness. McKendrick, also credited as the top billing actor in the film, delivers an impressive performance as she navigates the ups and downs of her characters, subverting expectations, peeling away the nuances and layers of her personality and current situation seamlessly. Her performance results in the construction of a compelling, fascinating and deeply flawed character, one you can’t take your eyes off throughout the short’s 13-minute run-time.
Ahead of its online debut here on S/W, Fuck Me, Richard had its World Premiere at the 2023 edition of SXSW and went on to be selected at Seattle, Melbourne and Show Me Shorts, to name a few. Both directors are now working on developing projects separately, and also have new projects in the works where they’ll collaborate once again.