IMHO the current score of 3.9 out of 10 is too low for this film. No doubt if one were to compare the production standard to The Dark Knight Rises it probably might seem a bit shabby, but that's not the point. It's my belief that we have to judge films to a certain extent according to what they achieve with the resources available. And this shoestring budget production delivered a fairly solid twist-and-turn psycho-noir that we'd all be drooling over had it been directed by David Lynch.
The script, direction and acting were quite strong. Even within the modest limits of available budget there were moments of poetry, some fancy shots, psychological and philosophical sophistication etc. But, sad to say, the film was let down by two elements usually used to hide narrative deficiencies - the lighting and the production design.
Lighting wise it felt there was never quite a full commitment to either Drive-style contemporary film soleil, or classic-era low key noir - instead the majority of the scenes seemed to have flat and characterless lighting that brought to mind cheap daytime TV. I get it that there probably wasn't much money to play with for the production design, but it doesn't have to be expensive to paint a wall. So many of the motel and apartment sets were beige and camel and white with very little wall adornment - paint those walls plum and purple and crimson and you instantly add some Lynchian richness and menace.
The largely Hitchcockian score by Christopher Farrell was good - I've heard his work in some other films recently and have been impressed by his range and creativity. It's a shame he wasn't given more time or leeway to work on the sound design - because even a base layer of subliminal percussion and white noise would have elevated the mood of the whole piece.
Overall I give this film a solid 7 out of 10, although I'll be submitting a 10 out of 10 vote on the page to try to balance out the unfairly low current score.
The script, direction and acting were quite strong. Even within the modest limits of available budget there were moments of poetry, some fancy shots, psychological and philosophical sophistication etc. But, sad to say, the film was let down by two elements usually used to hide narrative deficiencies - the lighting and the production design.
Lighting wise it felt there was never quite a full commitment to either Drive-style contemporary film soleil, or classic-era low key noir - instead the majority of the scenes seemed to have flat and characterless lighting that brought to mind cheap daytime TV. I get it that there probably wasn't much money to play with for the production design, but it doesn't have to be expensive to paint a wall. So many of the motel and apartment sets were beige and camel and white with very little wall adornment - paint those walls plum and purple and crimson and you instantly add some Lynchian richness and menace.
The largely Hitchcockian score by Christopher Farrell was good - I've heard his work in some other films recently and have been impressed by his range and creativity. It's a shame he wasn't given more time or leeway to work on the sound design - because even a base layer of subliminal percussion and white noise would have elevated the mood of the whole piece.
Overall I give this film a solid 7 out of 10, although I'll be submitting a 10 out of 10 vote on the page to try to balance out the unfairly low current score.