''Scummy Man'' is a

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

, written and directed by Paul Fraser and produced by Mark Herbert and Diarmid Scrimshaw, based on the song " When the Sun Goes Down" by the

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, ...

, and released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on 10 April 2006 by

Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...

. The film, like the song, focuses on prostitution in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

, and uses the same actors as the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

to document a night in the life of the fictional 'Nina', a 15-year-old

drug addict Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

who works as a prostitute in the

Neepsend Neepsend is a suburb of the city of Sheffield, it stands just north-west of the city centre. The main area of Neepsend covers the flood plain of the River Don from Lady's Bridge at the Wicker up to Hillfoot Bridge. The suburb falls within th ...

district. The film stars

Lauren Socha Lauren Marie Socha (born 9 June 1990) is an English actress. She rose to prominence during her role as Kelly Bailey in the E4 comedy-drama television series '' Misfits'', for which she won a BAFTA TV Award in the Best Supporting Actress cate ...

as 'Nina' and

Stephen Graham Stephen Joseph Graham (born 3 August 1973) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Andrew "Combo" Gascoigne in the film '' This Is England'' (2006) and its television sequels '' This Is England '86'' (2010), ''This Is England '88'' ...

as George, known by the nickname of 'Scummy Man', a violent and manipulative 'customer' of 'Nina's, who attacks and intimidates both 'Nina' and those who try to help her escape prostitution, such as a

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

who offers her a job as his assistant in his act. The magician becomes a victim of the Scummy Man's behaviour but is not without his own flaws, as the film-maker begs if anyone is really inherently good. In order to achieve a documentary feel for the footage, the film was shot in

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical Film gauge, gauge of Photographic film, film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm film, 8 and 35mm movie film, 35 mm. It is ...

by Danny Cohen. The DVD includes an extra film titled ''Just Another Day'', which is more hopeful and upbeat in tone, and focuses on how every day events, such as being offered a lift by a

taxicab driver A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

, present opportunity and hope for her future. ''Just Another Day'' depicts the same chain of events, but from the perspective of the taxi driver who brings the Scummy Man to Nina, who takes pity on her as she reminds him of his own daughter who died young and would have been the same age as Nina were she still alive. The name of the film comes from a line in "When the Sun Goes Down", describing the "customer" of the girl featured in the song, The film won an award for "Best Music DVD" at the 2007

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

on 1 March 2007. The only band member to appear in the film is

Matt Helders Matthew Helders (born 7 May 1986) is an English drummer, vocalist and songwriter. He is best known as a founding member of the indie rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has recorded seven studio albums. In 2015, Helders collaborated with Ig ...

. He is offered oral sex by Nina at the beginning of the film, but turns it down, saying he is going to band practice. Besides this, Helders and

Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...

are seen carrying musical equipment through a gate in the credits of ''Just Another Day'', but they do not feature in the film itself.

References

External links

Arctic Monkeys – "When the Sun Goes Down" lyrics
{{Authority control 2006 short films Arctic Monkeys 2006 films 2000s English-language films