In The Air Is Christopher Gray
2013 · 10m · United Kingdom
Directed by Felix Massie
Genres: animation, comedy, coming-of-age
Tones: melancholic, tender, whimsical
Adolescent Christopher Gray attempts daredevil stunts to catch the eye of Stacey, the girl he fancies, while a five-foot python disrupts a hazy summer's day.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
A kid doing backflips for love while a python wanders through the frame—it's sweet enough, but ultimately it's asking permission to be cute, and that's precisely the move that bores me. The whimsy feels earned rather than subversive, which means it's probably someone else's film.
Massie locates this somewhere between Ghibli's tactile warmth and the formal restraint of indie animation, letting the melancholy breathe underneath the comedy—there's real craft in how the python becomes a silent chorus to teenage longing rather than pure sight gag.
The decision to keep the python as a peripheral, almost indifferent presence while Christopher strains for attention is what makes this work: it's a formal choice that reframes the whole dynamic, turning the girl-as-goal narrative into something about the randomness of mattering to anyone at all.
Reviews
A story of unrequited love, that combines a distinct visual style with a charming and engaging narrative, Massie's latest short now looks to continue wowing audiences with its online release. Its immersive narrative and unmistakable style leaving such a strong impression on me with that first viewing, I wouldn't have even needed to re-watch the film to write this article.