Martin Freeman and Tom Hollander offer characteristically strong performances in THE VOORMAN PROBLEM: a well made short whose playful humour leads into a darkly comedic finale.

Freeman plays the role of psychologist Dr Williams, sent to assess the mental stability of Hollander’s Voorman – a prisoner who believes he is a god, and claims he can prove it. There is plenty  to tease out in the brief running time of THE VOORMAN PROBLEM: why is a god choosing to be cooped up in a prison? What exactly does this ‘being a god’ constitute anyway?

The subtext and underlying philosophical stuff isn’t new, but the execution is liable to raise a grin. The two male leads play their role to perfection, given the entire affair rests on their dialogue exchanges.

The two male leads play their role to perfection, given the entire affair rests on their dialogue exchanges.

Freeman is always reliable, especially in this tailor-made role of the exasperated-but-intelligent everyman. Hollander usually seems on the point of lunacy in a number of his roles (‘The Fucker’, and being the only remotely edgy thing in ABOUT TIME last year) and deadpans with aplomb here.

The soundtrack is perhaps a little on the plinky-plonky side, but director Mark Gill’s camerawork adds a dimension (not least during Freeman’s first scene, and the second encounter between doctor and patient) to otherwise very dialogue driven proceedings.

The leads’ delivery makes for some good laughs that are not strung out across a short film. The plot also continues that curious obsession of the British comedy fraternity of depicting Belgium as inconsequential.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aNyXNYeiwA