A bizarre British comedy short called The Jillon is making the rounds online, and reactions range from 'modern-day classic' to 'I have no idea what I just watched... but I watched.' That second verdict might be the most honest review it gets.
The premise is delightfully odd. Jill and John, an elderly couple who met too late in life to have children, are given a chance at parenthood of sorts when a magical package turns up on their doorstep. Inside is the Jillon itself — the creature of the title — a manic, alarming figure that one writer compared to Mr Blobby after exposure to radiation. Jill gets her wish, though as the old saying goes, be careful what you wish for.
The credentials behind it are strong. The script comes from Harry Hill, and Richard Ayoade — beloved from The IT Crowd — narrates, gleefully breaking through the fourth wall before getting his comeuppance for it. Flip Webster plays Jill and Richard Syms plays John, both familiar faces from decades of British TV and film who you'd recognise instantly without necessarily knowing their names. The Jillon itself is played by Cosmo Wellings, whose full-tilt commitment to such an absurd role has drawn its own share of praise.
Viewer commentary has become half the fun. Some have compared it to a British Twilight Zone or a remake of Eraserhead; others have called it a public information film about the dangers of wood, or an origin story for Mr Blobby. Ayoade's unexpected running scenes have become a talking point in their own right. One commenter reckoned the film will resurface years from now, leaving them unsure whether they actually saw it or dreamt the whole thing — which is probably the highest compliment surreal comedy can hope for.
So why should this matter to travellers? Because British eccentricity is one of the country's genuine cultural exports, and short films like this are a free, zero-effort taste of it from wherever you happen to be. If your idea of Britain is politely restrained, The Jillon is the corrective: a glimpse of the same comic sensibility that runs from Monty Python through The Mighty Boosh and into Ayoade's own deadpan universe. Watch it before a trip, and a lot of what you encounter in British pubs, seaside towns and panel shows will make sudden, uncanny sense.
Best of all, it costs nothing but ten-odd minutes of your attention. Whether you emerge as one of the people calling it art or one of those still blinking at the screen, you'll almost certainly do what every viewer seems to do: keep watching to the end. — Via Kuriositas
