Predicament

A Terrific Opening. Fabulous Art Direction. And Then it Quietly Falls Apart...falls

The Watcher. Nobody (?)

Flicks User Ratings

• Nobody
• Wannabe
• B-Grader
• A-Lister
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With such a fantastic opening you really want to like this film. It's probably one of the best openings of any NZ film. But then you slowly begin to realise that the key actors aren't up to it, their performances lack craft, and the dialogue isn't helping. Meanwhile the camera is forever soaring up, over, and around everything. And the close-ups use brutal wide-lenses very close, in almost every second scene. These techniques on their own are fine, and often very well executed. But their overuse diminishes their impact, and your left wishing it would stop, so that you can focus on the characters and the story. Which leads to the next wee issue...the story. It's just a bit boring. I laughed, but i didn't laugh enough. I was scared, but i wasn't scared enough. And critically, I didn't really engage with the leads, I couldn't, I was kept at arms length by the stylised execution and the undercooked performances. Which is a genuine pity, because it's a film you really want to be great. The period is wonderfully recreated. The costuming is superb. The look and feel of the film is very good. It just doesn't charge on, sweep you up, and really involve you. The director probably just needs some more time at the drama coal-face, working with actors to craft performance. And a little more script scrutiny, working hard at building characters we can root for or be appalled by. Everything else is sweet - it's these key areas of performance and storytelling that need work. And that work can be done. It's just, sadly, a little late for this film. It's a 2.5 out 5 - the extra half star is for the promise and potential this filmmaker exhibits.