The Voorman Problem

Plot synopsis:
Dr. Williams (played by Martin Freeman) is hired by Governor Bentley (Simon Griffiths) to work as a prison psychiatrist after "The War in the East" has produced a doctor shortage. Williams is informed about the Voorman problem; a prisoner named Voorman (Tom Hollander) is convinced that he is a god and has convinced the rest of the prisoners who spend all day chanting in worship. It is unclear what Voorman's crime is due to a computer malfunction.
Williams interviews a straitjacketed Voorman in a locked room in the prison. Voorman calmly explains that he is a god, and that he created the world exactly nine days ago. When the Doctor objects, Voorman suggests a test of his powers. He will eliminate Belgium as proof he is a god.
At home a frustrated Wiliams tells his wife about the case. He laughingly brings the claim that Voorman will eliminate Belgium. His wife is confused, having no idea what Belgium is. Williams attempts to show her Belgium in an atlas but finds it is gone and replaced with a body of water called "Walloon Lagoon."
Back at the prison, Williams is baffled by the lack of any evidence of Belgium, but refuses to believe in Voorman's divinity. Voorman expresses his exhaustion with being a god and suggests the two switch places. In a flash the two have switched places, Voorman dressed as the well dressed doctor, and Williams disheveled and in a straitjacket. Williams calls for the guards and Voorman starts to leave stating that it is no use. As he leaves, Voorman advises Williams to "keep an eye on North Korea."
Voorman leaves the room as the sounds of the prisoners chanting get louder.

Tags: insanity, comedy

Review:
We need to talk about Voorman. While Mark Gill's "The Voorman Problem" is intended to be darkly comedic, I found the short mostly disturbing and often offputting. That's definitely not a bad thing, but the comedic element, in my opinion, is something I found extremely subtle rather than prominent, as many viewers of the short had claimed. The film is a neatly and intriguingly shot short following a psychiatrist named Doctor Williams (Martin Freeman) who is called into a mental hospital for urgent evaluation of a patient named Voorman (Tom Hollander), who has convinced practically every other patient in the facility that he is indeed God. When Williams visits Voorman, he takes note of his slow, confident speech and his wily personality, as Voorman claims to have created the world in nine days. When Williams asks how that is possible, seeing as he himself is thirty-five-years-old and has clear and vivid memories of his childhood, Voorman replies in an assured manner that he himself created those memories, ideas, Williams as a person, and even Williams' skepticism of his actual powers. The short is beautifully shot, with wide, spacious shots depicting both men in conversation and even a terrific overhead shot that shows the contents of a desk early in the film. With vague but present vibes of the underrated science-fiction film K-PAX and a solid couple twist towards the end, "The Voorman Problem" finds ways to intrigue the same way it finds ways to mystify.. For once, a doctor who doesn't think he's a god!. Today I went to a special showing of the Oscar-nominated Live Action films. This was a very unusual year because I don't see any clear winner nor did I see any film I disliked. Oddly, however, I didn't see any I loved either and picking the winner is amazingly difficult.Of all the nominees, "The Voorman Problem" and "Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?" are by far the slightest and least likely to win the Oscar. HOWEVER, both films are very good and I am thrilled they included them. That's because the other three are all super-depressing (one is about child soldiers/rape and murder, another is about domestic violence and the other is about a child who is dying). I and the rest of the audience really NEEDED a film like "Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?" as we might have otherwise just stuck our heads in the oven when we got home! Now I am not being critical of these depressing films--they deserved the nominations. It was just nice to see one a little lighter and more fanciful like "The Voorman Problem".The film stars Martin Freeman--a very, very familiar face these days. He was a Hobbit in the recent Peter Jackson films and also had very memorable appearances in "Love Actually" (very memorable in this case), "Hot Fuzz" and "Sean of the Dead" (among others).Freeman plays a psychiatrist, Dr. Williams. Williams has been called to the local prison because one of the inmates believes he's a god--and all the prisoners are now sharing this belief! They worship the man and the prison routine is in shambles. So, not surprisingly, the prison wants to ship this guy off to the looney bin. What happens next? I won't tell you....you've GOT to see it for yourself. Funny, dark and very clever. It probably won't win the Oscar but I a was sure thrilled to see it.. Well-written. "The Voorman Problem" is an Academy Award nominated short film from 4 years ago. I remember vaguely that it was the suspected winner in the live action short film category, but it lost to the more emotionally involving "Helium". The main character is played by Martin Freeman who you may know from "Sherlock" or the "Hobbit" trilogy. The co-lead is played by Tom Hollander. People who watched the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise may know him. All in all, it's a decent short film in my opinion. Fairly entertaining 12 minutes and the BAFTA agreed. The script is clearly the best component in here for me. The Belgium reference was pure comedy gold and the final twist at the end with Freeman's character actually screaming that one out was hilarious as well. The other aspects weren't that outstanding, so as a whole I am okay with this getting an Oscar nomination without winning it. Good watch and I recommend it. Makes me curious about the next projects by Baldwin Li and Mark Gill.