Beautifully shot, smartly written, this movie draws you in from the first second and keeps you there. Very funny. Great choices that I can't share without using spoilers. I will say the oversized suit is perfect......
5 Reviews
FUN FILM!
shanecasting-2994815 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
What a fun diversion! I loved the black and white, the quirky music, even the production titles gave me a giggle. The nod to black and white Italian cinema is genius and the performances are delightfully playful. VERY clever film!
Great short about a Hollywood burn-out
keith-rodway218 February 2021
A Little Gem
parissound19 February 2021
Directed by Garth Twa (Tremble and Quake) and Dave Bergeson (Wheels Locked) and written by Twa, Exterior Day is a little gem.
The story presents the quintessential Hollywood dilemma: one is only as good as their last film. So the angst is unleashed when their mid-life protagonist, Blake (Twa), learns he may have just given his last performance. Desperate, he tries to convince his agent, Maggie, (Natalie Dolishny), to land him one last part before he settles into an inconsequential existence - even if the role requires him to disrobe.
Save for the appearance of a drone and cell phone, with the quivering theremin in the opening track, monochromatic images, and limited environs, Bergeson and Twa create an atmosphere that feels timeless and effectively focuses the viewer's attention on the characters and their dilemma.
Dolishny gives a commanding performance and had me imagining with delight what she will do when given the opportunity to spread her wings in a full-length feature. Navigating the Hollywood hills in her convertible, she attempts to explain to Blake that he's reached his expiration date and she's prepared to extricate herself from the relationship. She does so while fielding infuriating phone calls, her responses to which, cleverly, (and offensively) get mixed in with her dialogue with Blake.
Bergeson is also convincing as Blake's (perhaps only) obsessed fan. Newcomer, Grace Harris, plays a mysterious, angelic girl who intuits Blake's need for consolation and offers her (partially eaten) ice cream cone only to be rebuffed.
Reportedly shot in a single afternoon on an iPhone, Exterior Day is an admirable accomplishment. The buzz is that in 2022, Twa, who is a graduate of the venerated USC Film program, will make his debut as a feature writer-director with his much-anticipated original screenplay, Ethan and Arlo, a road film set in 1974.
The story presents the quintessential Hollywood dilemma: one is only as good as their last film. So the angst is unleashed when their mid-life protagonist, Blake (Twa), learns he may have just given his last performance. Desperate, he tries to convince his agent, Maggie, (Natalie Dolishny), to land him one last part before he settles into an inconsequential existence - even if the role requires him to disrobe.
Save for the appearance of a drone and cell phone, with the quivering theremin in the opening track, monochromatic images, and limited environs, Bergeson and Twa create an atmosphere that feels timeless and effectively focuses the viewer's attention on the characters and their dilemma.
Dolishny gives a commanding performance and had me imagining with delight what she will do when given the opportunity to spread her wings in a full-length feature. Navigating the Hollywood hills in her convertible, she attempts to explain to Blake that he's reached his expiration date and she's prepared to extricate herself from the relationship. She does so while fielding infuriating phone calls, her responses to which, cleverly, (and offensively) get mixed in with her dialogue with Blake.
Bergeson is also convincing as Blake's (perhaps only) obsessed fan. Newcomer, Grace Harris, plays a mysterious, angelic girl who intuits Blake's need for consolation and offers her (partially eaten) ice cream cone only to be rebuffed.
Reportedly shot in a single afternoon on an iPhone, Exterior Day is an admirable accomplishment. The buzz is that in 2022, Twa, who is a graduate of the venerated USC Film program, will make his debut as a feature writer-director with his much-anticipated original screenplay, Ethan and Arlo, a road film set in 1974.
Reviewed by Beth Lee - Art Is Alive Magazine
codepen-25 April 2022
Warning: Spoilers
While this short film begins in earnest, the tone quickly changes to a wink and a nod at Italian film director
Fredrico Fellini. Overdubbed in Italian, the film also harkens us back to the silent film era. This is a time
when the filmgoer had to read cue cards, and the actors' gestures and expressions were wildly
overexaggerated. The music, which feels like a throwback to a more innocent time, helps set the scene, and
adds a layer of whimsy.
Actor Blake, played by the film's writer and one of its co-directors, Garth Twa, is in on the joke, particularly when the autograph-seeking fan approaches him. The fan, played by Dave Bergeson, is the film's other codirector. In an oversized suit and sunglasses, Blake does not realize he is about to be expelled from the Hollywood machine. As the fan is happily meeting his favorite actor from Sunset Palms, Maggie, his agent, drags Blake off. Maggie, played by short film veteran Natalie Dolishny, is polished and straightforward.
We sense immediately upon meeting Maggie that she does not have the time nor the patience to deal with Blake's delicate ego, and she is a busy woman. While driving in the Hollywood Hills in Maggie's convertible, Blake demands that Maggie negotiate to make him the biggest male star in Sunset Palms after his fifteen seasons starring in it. His plan is quickly derailed by Maggie's news that not only will he be killed off on the show, she is no longer representing him. Crushed and left on the side of the road by Maggie, Blake takes his anger out on an ice cream cone offered to him by a little girl wearing a white veil.
Exterior Day has some moments of irony. It is 8 ½ minutes long - same as the title of one of Fellini's Oscarwinning films. It was filmed in black and white, but exterior day scenes are usually shot using natural sunlight. The film is witty and clever, and the viewer can feel how much fun everyone had creating it. The purpose is not clear until the end. By this, I mean someone can appear to be living "La Dolce Vita,", while it may just be an illusion - particularly in LA.
Actor Blake, played by the film's writer and one of its co-directors, Garth Twa, is in on the joke, particularly when the autograph-seeking fan approaches him. The fan, played by Dave Bergeson, is the film's other codirector. In an oversized suit and sunglasses, Blake does not realize he is about to be expelled from the Hollywood machine. As the fan is happily meeting his favorite actor from Sunset Palms, Maggie, his agent, drags Blake off. Maggie, played by short film veteran Natalie Dolishny, is polished and straightforward.
We sense immediately upon meeting Maggie that she does not have the time nor the patience to deal with Blake's delicate ego, and she is a busy woman. While driving in the Hollywood Hills in Maggie's convertible, Blake demands that Maggie negotiate to make him the biggest male star in Sunset Palms after his fifteen seasons starring in it. His plan is quickly derailed by Maggie's news that not only will he be killed off on the show, she is no longer representing him. Crushed and left on the side of the road by Maggie, Blake takes his anger out on an ice cream cone offered to him by a little girl wearing a white veil.
Exterior Day has some moments of irony. It is 8 ½ minutes long - same as the title of one of Fellini's Oscarwinning films. It was filmed in black and white, but exterior day scenes are usually shot using natural sunlight. The film is witty and clever, and the viewer can feel how much fun everyone had creating it. The purpose is not clear until the end. By this, I mean someone can appear to be living "La Dolce Vita,", while it may just be an illusion - particularly in LA.
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