‘Through The Stew’ is a bold experiment in mood, tone, and fractured psychology – an evocative short film that follows Anton (Willow Barrett), a young man adrift in a monochrome maze. Directed with unflinching style by Sal Redpath and Ben Archer, and penned solely by Archer, this is no ordinary coming-of-age drift – it’s a slow, smoky descent into inner chaos.
Shot in striking black and white, Redpath’s cinematography does more than aestheticise – it reveals. Light flickers and fades in restless harmony with Anton’s psyche. From the grimy streets of New York to a quiet rural pause marked only by a crackling radio, the film offers no safe ground, only strange encounters and sharp turns. Chuck Bones makes a brief but unforgettable impression as a barefoot angelic figure – equal parts beggar and prophet – hinting at redemption, but never promising it.
Dialogue is sparse, almost ghostly, letting music and visual rhythm take full control. This is a story through movement, atmosphere, and beautifully restrained chaos. Barrett carries the weight of Anton’s brokenness with a quiet intensity that makes every cigarette drag feel loaded.
There’s noir in the air, but it’s warped – more bohemian fever dream than fantasy. The tone veers dark, occasionally surreal, yet never pretentious. It’s unpolished in the best way: grainy, gritty, honest. There’s no clear arc, no resolution, but that’s the point. Anton isn’t reaching for salvation – he’s not even sure he wants it. The radio chatter that hums throughout becomes a whisper from the void.
‘Through The Stew’ is unsettling, but not exploitative; stylish, but not showy. It’s a shadowy walk through a soul that’s barely hanging on – and a quiet triumph of artistic control. Redpath and Archer have created something deeply compelling. A worthy watch.
