The film opens with a close up of his radio, and the diegetic sound which is a self-help CD, telling him how to deal with loneliness. The next mid shot is used to highlight the man, Donald's willingness to get on with his job, even though he feels down. this is also conveyed by the use of a close up of hos phone, which still had a picture of his ex as his background, representing how he does not want to let go of the past. A high angle shot brings into view the house of the woman, Jess, which is really untidy and full of empty bottles. her outfit reflects this, suggesting that she is going through a rough patch in her life.
A hand held camera is used throughout, used to possibly connote how awkward the situation is, or going to be. Once Donald, who is a plumber and has come to fix her sink, enters her house, he notices all the bottles lying around and asks Jess if she had 'a party last night', which highlights how unusual it is to have a house that untidy, with that many empty bottles around the house, conveying the thought that something is not right with her and the use of low key lighting also suggests this. Jess asks Donald how long it will take, suggesting how his presence in her home is an inconvenience, even though what he is doing is helping her, and while he replies, she walks away, showing how she is not interested, and that she is not letting her guard down. Throughout this encounter, Donald tries making conversation with her, yet each time she barely responds, again showing how she is not willing to let her guard down. Another point to prove his bitterness towards his break up, and how he is reluctant to let go of the past, he brings up his ex in conversation; "my girlfriend an I, well, ex...".
in this scene, attention is drawn to the window, as a car appears outside, followed by a close up of Jess' face, with a worried expression on it, conveying the fact that she is worried about what will happen next. After this, Donald accidentally cuts his hand, which leads to the two of them working under the sink together, where she seems to open up and become more comfortable. This is shown when she wets him with the tap in a playful manner. when this happens, Donald says "that's very Bart of you." referring to she Bart Simpson socks she is wearing, which was brought to the audiences' attention from a set up earlier in the film, where there was a close up of her socks. After this they both find they have something in common, which is they hated the town they live in when they both first moved to it. Donald keeps awkwardly telling her stories about sinks in an effort to interest her, suggesting that he likes her.
After this, someone is at the door, and Jess proceeds to argue with the man, who is later revealed to be Edward, Jess's partner. Donald is in the background on the floor by the sink, looking he smaller and he weaker of the two men, and he desperately wants to prove himself, and stand up for the woman who he has now developed slight feelings for, as his self help CD is playing in his head. As this is happening, synchronous sound builds tension, until finally, Donald runs out of the house, with his wrench, connoting he is too weak to fight without a weapon, which is proved later on. Donald shouts to Edward, as his car is just pulling away from the drive, and he carries on shouting as he is determined to prove to himself that he can stand up for once. Each time he says something to Edward he stutters, conveying his nervousness, as he is clearly the weaker of the two by far.
in the next scene, a long shot is used to show the two men fighting, for what is presented to be the honour of Jess, as Edward says 'I'm fighting for you...'. Donald had misread the situation by the sink as a connection, when it wasn't, however upon realising his mistake, he does not back down, as his CD had said to stand up for his woman. Edward then punches Donald which knocks him out could for a few hours, as it is night time when he finally wakes up.
Once Donald is awake, walks back into the house, and without saying a word, he fixes the sink. He does this silently due to the humiliation of the day's events, such as thinking he and Jess had a connection, and that he had been knocked unconscious by Edward.the awkwardness of the situation is highlighted by the fact that the couple do not know where to look while Donald is in the house.
Also, when he goes back in the house, it is completely clean and tidy, representing the argument between Jess and Edward was completely resolved. Once Donald leaves, the silence is broken and conversation between the couple continues as normal from where they left off.
Donald then gets in his car and when he turns the ignition, his self help CD is loudly playing. He takes this out, signifying the end of him using it after what had happened when he did listen to it, and in its place a song comes on as it cuts to black before the credits. The lyrics in the song are "It ain't me babe, it ain't me you're looking for" which is fitting because Donald was not what Jess was looking for.
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