There are many things to admire about this movie: it looks good, the actors are believable in their roles, its limited locations are interesting, and the premise is intriguing. That the movie was filmed in one take, simultaneously in two locations, following two actors, is certainly an impressive technical feat.
Split screen movies can work. This one, often, does not. At times, the viewer struggles to get a sense of each character's setting or movements, and does not quite because the screen is, literally, cut off.
The fact that the movie was filmed in a single take is impressive, but it leaves the audience watching a lot of moments that would have been better edited out. Realism is not achieved by watching characters putter about. For instance, near the beginning, we get to watch Scott walk home from a bar and Beth go out to her car to search for a cell phone charger -- in real time. Whole minutes roll by, taking up valuable time in this 75-minute movie, where the story could be underway.
The actors' performances have some good moments, but overall, there is an ocean of pathos, pushed by voices that border on simpering. We get it, Scott is in crisis, Beth is "thrown in the deep end", trying to help him with limited skills, and heavy emotions arise during their collision. But the watery, bordering-on-crying voices go on so long, they are so one-note, they begin to grate and actually hamper the impact of the scene.
The music is well done. Particularly at the beginning, doing a great job of setting the tone for what we are about to see. As the movie progresses, the music suffers from the same abundance of pathos that weighs down the performances -- a little of the emotional music would go a long way. Here, it's wall-to-wall.
In the end, the actors and music director are wedging themselves into the workable spaces left by the filmmaker's central gimmick: filming in real-time, split screen, no cuts. It would have been very interesting to see what this film might have looked like without the gimmick, which would have provided the space needed by the actors and music.
Split screen movies can work. This one, often, does not. At times, the viewer struggles to get a sense of each character's setting or movements, and does not quite because the screen is, literally, cut off.
The fact that the movie was filmed in a single take is impressive, but it leaves the audience watching a lot of moments that would have been better edited out. Realism is not achieved by watching characters putter about. For instance, near the beginning, we get to watch Scott walk home from a bar and Beth go out to her car to search for a cell phone charger -- in real time. Whole minutes roll by, taking up valuable time in this 75-minute movie, where the story could be underway.
The actors' performances have some good moments, but overall, there is an ocean of pathos, pushed by voices that border on simpering. We get it, Scott is in crisis, Beth is "thrown in the deep end", trying to help him with limited skills, and heavy emotions arise during their collision. But the watery, bordering-on-crying voices go on so long, they are so one-note, they begin to grate and actually hamper the impact of the scene.
The music is well done. Particularly at the beginning, doing a great job of setting the tone for what we are about to see. As the movie progresses, the music suffers from the same abundance of pathos that weighs down the performances -- a little of the emotional music would go a long way. Here, it's wall-to-wall.
In the end, the actors and music director are wedging themselves into the workable spaces left by the filmmaker's central gimmick: filming in real-time, split screen, no cuts. It would have been very interesting to see what this film might have looked like without the gimmick, which would have provided the space needed by the actors and music.