Will Sorg-

Supporting independent cinema is essential in this day and age. It has become easier than ever to make a movie with little to no money; if you have a phone you can do it. That’s what makes truly excellent microbudget films really stand out. I was recently reached out to by Jack Clarke, a producer for the independent film Nobody Loves You and You Don’t Deserve to Exist, and was given the chance to see the film. The film, which from here on I will abbreviate as Nobody Loves You, is a masterful example of how to create impactful art on a microbudget.

Nobody Loves You is the debut feature film of United Kingdom (UK) filmmaker Brett Gregory. The film is a character study of a complex working-class man named Jack. Revealing Jack’s story through a series of one-take monologues performed by characters central to Jack’s life and Jack himself, the film’s unorthodox approach to narrative allows for nuance and complexity to be found in each segment. Early on in the film, we are shown a series of shots of a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Bosch is a Dutch painter who was known for his detailed and surreal illustrations of religious concepts. The painting serves as a way to clue the audience into the layered construction of the film and works as a great symbol for the way we view the character of Jack.

Jack is given all the focus of the film, that being one of the bolder and smarter choices the filmmakers made. Each character, including himself as a child, a college student, and a 50-year-old man is there to further unpack the fragmented truths scattered about his broken mind. Jack is a tragic character. From a turbulent family structure to alcohol abuse and unprocessed trauma, with each subsequent scene, we learn a little more about him. Jack as a character feels like an overinflated balloon still filling with air, ready to burst at any given moment.

What truly elevates the material of this film is how Jack’s fragile mental state mirrors the atmosphere of the UK at large. This is not only a fantastic look into trauma, but a look inside masculinity, personal history, and how it shapes a person as well. Nobody Loves You demonstrates the way in which one’s environment can shape their lived experiences and cause further stress. Jack grew up during Margaret Thatcher’s UK, the filmmakers setting the flashback to the time period as 1984, a clear callback to George Orwell’s dystopian novel. This along with the many allusions to Brexit, COVID-19, racial and class tensions and more continue to pile on a background pressure of societal stress that builds up until it feels as though the film itself will buckle under the weight of English decline. The filmmakers have perfectly captured the often ignored view of the world that comes from those struggling in the rapidly disappearing middle class.

There is this feeling of undeniable despair that is almost intensified through the low budget; Jack feeling invisible to the rest of the world. In many ways, it might not be that he does not deserve to exist, but that to everyone but him he does not exist. I highly recommend you experience the film for yourself as it is hard to sum up the totality of what is portrayed throughout. If you do decide to watch the film, be prepared for an intimate look into not only the life of a turbulent character’s fractured identity but the very social malaise that has shaped that character’s environment as well.