CommentsXp Best movie ever!

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

anika-07837 Casey (Maisie William) is any other 16 year old girl, who spends everlasting time on social media .However one night an anonymous  online hacker takes control of everything she assumed she had management of and  torments her to admit 3 things. Whilst appearing to be the worst Cyber- bully, she will ever come across in her lifetime .The short thriller arises moral panic frequently  for example how easy it is for teenagers to hack into anything they desire , when the internet should be safe. As well as the devastation of how one message can accumulate a ridiculous amount of trolls, which then leads on to other matters ...Cyberbully shows hidden messages which brings self reflection to the audience. Overall  I like the fact that it was only 1 hour long  but it was able to bring so much tension between Casey, her speaking screen and yourself .

luke-a-mcgowan Cyberbully is a surprisingly effective, well-paced thriller considering the small world issues it faces and the small world environment in which it takes place. Within only five minutes, I was hooked. First off the bat, Maisie Williams was startlingly good as Casey, the film's only real actress, and she carries the short film on her young shoulders. She wanes between hysterical and depressed and upset with talent that escapes her more high profile Game of Thrones co- stars. The direction is superb - the film is as taut as a wire for most of its first half.However, where the film's best and worst assets are is in its screenplay. For the first 45 minutes or so, I was captivated by the interplay between Casey and her hacker. Then when he begins goading her into committing suicide, I was taken out of the film and never got back in. Had the film concluded with the hacker being a suicide victim's father, I would have been much happier with it. Instead, it goes on and on, and whilst the conclusion was quite effective, once the hacker's motives became too dark and convoluted, it was hard to remain as engrossed as I was earlier.Overall, Cyberbully is an important film, tackling its subject matter with strength and poise, and is carried by strong direction and an amazing performance from Maisie Williams.

ianlouisiana As the Internet replaces television as the most influential of all communications media it is with no small sense of irony that a TV play seeks to portray it as the root of all evil. But,as the NRA would have it - "Guns don't kill people;people kill people". And,unfortunately,there are far more evil people lurking in the dark anonymity of the internet than in the mean streets of any city. And the victims,thinking themselves secure in their comfortable bedrooms,are even more vulnerable. Nowadays playground taunts have metamorphosed into full - blown life threatening rants that have caused children to take their own lives. "Cyberbully" tells of one such vulnerable child who is targeted by a so - called troll and badgered to the extent that she takes an overdose of her prescribed medication. It's easy for someone of my generation to be scathing about the dependence of a younger generation on "Facebook","Twitter" and so forth,but I can and do understand that circumstances and peer pressure make up a large part of such dependency,and that the idea of simply turning the machine off and clearing the hard drive would be a bit like destroying a much - loved puppy because it had wet the carpet. The play conveys a sense of social isolation despite the cyber "presence" of the child's friends ;also the claustrophobic effect of hardly ever leaving the one small room except for going to school. "Cave machinem" may have been the intention,but,as ever,man's greatest enemy remains man.

Tweekums As teenager Casey prepares for a night out she listens to music on her computer; strangely it keeps changing track. She contacts her friend Megan to ask if she has had problems and she says her account was once hacked. While talking Megan alerts to an offensive tweet posted by Casey's ex-boyfriend. They discuss getting revenge and a mutual friend gives Casey access to the boy's twitter account; she posts an embarrassing tweet suggesting he is impotent. She is then contacted by the boy who helped her… but it isn't… she soon realises somebody is impersonating him; somebody who has access to her computer and thus her webcam. He starts talking in an electronic voice; in his words 'like a constipated Stephen Hawking'. The voice claims to help victims of online bullying but Casey doesn't understand; surely he is bullying her. Things are suddenly turned around as he points out her online activity could be construed as bullying; she protests that she was just having a laugh until he shows her the effects of what she started. If he isn't to post topless pictures of her to the net she will have to do exactly what he says…This TV drama was utterly gripping, it takes place almost entirely within Casey's bedroom and apart from people on the screen of her laptop Casey is the only character we see. As such the story succeeds or fails on how believable Casey is and thanks to Maisie Williams' brilliant performance I totally believed in her character; so much so that I barely thought of Arya Stark… her character in 'Game of Thrones'; a series that had be engrossed a couple of weeks ago. The one room setting and the fact that Casey is the only person physically in the room, and isn't allowed to leave the room, gives the story a claustrophobic feel and makes her seem alone. Shot in real time; often from the point of view of her webcam or in extreme close-up it feels as though she is caught like a rabbit in the headlights unable to avoid the fate her tormentor has planned.The nature of the story means it is the sort of thing that should be shown to teenagers as a warning; just because one thinks something is a 'bit of a laugh' doesn't mean others won't feel bullied; especially when more and more people get involved and none thinking about the target of their laughs. It also emphasises that one should be careful what one does on line and to remember that those 'special photos' can fall into the wrong hands. The ending is empowering rather than the depressing one I feared. Her tormentor's ability to hack into her computer, her phone and friends' accounts seemed a little far-fetched, although I'm no computer expert, but it served the needs of the drama. The only thing I found a bit disappointing was the strong language… yes it was totally believable but it might make some people think it unsuitable for the people who most need to see it. Overall a brilliant one off drama that should be seen by teenagers and those with teenaged children.