Crush

Essay #1: The Crush (short film 2010)

“The Crush” written and directed by first-timer Michael Creagh, and produced by Damon Quinn is a beautiful movie, which was was awarded Best Irish Short at the 23rd Foyle Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 83rd Academy Awards . The film was shot during Easter 2009 in Skerries, north Dublin.

The film sends us a message of a pure love, the truth in love by the pretty funny story, a dramatically excuted and honest portrayal of an eight-year old schoolboy, Ardal who has a crush on his teacher, Ms Purdy. He gives his teacher a toy ring to show his affection, he even write the plan to marry Ms.Purdy on the first page of his ten year plan book. While shopping with his mother on the next morning, he meets his teacher and he shows off his new polished leather pair of shoes, trying to appear like an adult to draw the attention of his teacher. The rising action happens at the time he sees Ms Purdy wearing an engaged ring and right after, her fiancé, Pierce, appears hand-in-hand with the teacher. Ardal finds that man is insensitive because he refuses to take Ms. Purdy for lunch, instead insisting on going home to watch football and Ardal is angry with it. That night, he sees the gun of his dad put in the closet and he has a decision.

The conflict is led to climax when Ardal challenges the dickish and disbelieving fiancé of his teacher to a duel to the death. He pulls a gun on him and let the teacher see her fiancé’s true colors. Confronting the verge of life and death, Pierce confess his love for the teacher is just a liar, an obligation. Gaining his purpose, Ardal shoots his teacher’s fiancé and it is revealed that the gun is a toy in front of the surprise of Pierce. Ms Purdy angrily calls off her engagement and breaks up with Pierce. And every conflict is resolved. In the ending of the film, she walks Ardal home and agree to “keep this between ourselves”. Ardal is over his crush,...