John-O struggles to bring up his son alone. With little food to eat and even less money in his pocket, he goes for a job interview. He entrusts his son with their precious corned beef lunch.
The boy, waits for his father to return. He guards the package of food carefully but, seeing a desperate down-and-out man stealing scraps of food to survive, he is intimidated by the homeless man. He allows the man to steal the lunch.
This is a short film which focuses on Clint on; how he lives, and how he deals with an unemployed father who is clearly living on the bread line. It's quite moving to see the boy caring for his father almost as an equal. They both love each over deeply. The frustration the Dad feels about his situation is also apparent.
The relationship between Clint and his father is very loving. John-O treats Clint with great love as he is his the only one who he has left in the world. He gives him encouragement and tries to make him independent. This happens when he is making the sandwiches.
The camera angles are very important. When Clint and John-O enter the café and Clint is ogling at the delicious, mouth-watering delicacies. It is shot at his level so the audience can empathise with Clint.
This frustration is well portrayed by Hart in the difficult scene with the hungry man. It isn't totally convincing, but only because it's a short film and it hasn't much time to build tension up. However, the Dad is totally believable from the start. Hart manages to convey so much history with looks and reactions. Most of the story is told through his expressions. He must convey hurt, compassion, fear and love through looks and actions and he does it so very well.
The Structure is very important. It is simply a three act structure; it has a beginning, middle, and an end. The beginning, also known as the premise, has a very important structure. We see that John-O and Clint are very close. They also have a very strong relationship and bond. This is seen in the film when John-O encourages Clint to make the sandwiches and looks at him with great pride.
The catharsis in this short film reveals the message that there is always is someone is worse off than you, and also that action speak louder than words. This is because in Bait when John-O drops his change when he has a struggle with the destitute man, he does not pick it up, even though Clint gathers all the loose change. However John-O tells him to leave it, because John-O realises that the tramps need is greater than his.
