Archie (Yates) as Oskar and friends at the river, searching for the corpse of a drowned man.
An interesting 16:50 short now playing at the HollyShorts Film Festival (Aug. 7-17th), “Clout” was directed by Jordan Murphy Dodge and written by Dodge in collaboration with Tom Duthie and Tristam Thomas. It is a meditation on the ubiquitous nature of the Internet, cell phones, Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram and other modern-day signs of the times.
Perhaps my favorite line regarding all of these things (podcasts, social media influencers, IMs, et. al) is this, “Don’t let this thing take over your whole life. It doesn’t mean as much as you think it does.”
ARCHIE YATES
A.I. is taking over the world ?
The film benefits from its lead actor, Archie Yates as Oskar. Archie played Yorki in “JoJo Rabbit” in 2019, when he was ten years old. He made such an impression as JoJo’s best friend and confidante that he was nominated for a Critics’ Choice Movie Award. Now 16, he has been in 9 films since his debut appearance as Yorki.
In this short Oskar (Archie Yates) is depicted as “odd man out.” His friends suspect him of being untruthful, in an effort to gain clout and be considered cool. Oskar will end up paying dearly for his obsession with being one of “the cool kids.
PLOT
Oskar (Archie Yates) and friends in “Clout.”
”The film draws heavily on such previous plots as “The Boy Who Cried Wolf and “Stand By Me.” Oskar tells his buddies at his British school that he has seen a dead body in the river while walking to school. The others (Obi Laughton as Oleforo-Aiden; Samuel Leakey as Ben; Ashwin Chandrasekaran as Rishi; Kit Price as Trey) are skeptical. Archie begs them to accompany him to the river to see the dead body (cue “Stand By Me”). Eventually, the trip is made, but the outcome is unexpected. Be sure to stay through the entire credits for this one.
Young Archie reminds me of a younger Josh Gad, the actor who was Tony nominated as Best Actor in a Leading Role for his part as Elder Cunningham in 2011’s “The Book of Mormon.” Archie is 16 with 9 credits. Josh Gad (44) has about 11 times that many, plus an education training for his career at Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts, School of Drama, where he graduated with a BFA.
THE FUTURE
Archie Yates told Mia Galuppo of “The Hollywood Reporter” (Oct. 24, 2019): “Thinking forward, I might have other things I want to do and worry about in my life, so I don’t really know where it’s going to go.” It will be interesting to watch his progress towards whatever goals young Yates sets for himself. He was captivating as the young Yorki in “JoJo Rabbit” and he and the other young actors (and actresses) in “Clout” at the HollyShorts Film Festival acquit themselves well, promising unlimited career horizons.
Enjoy this short film at the HollyShorts Film Festival August 7th through the 17th.
