Monday 10 August 2015

Emily (15)

Among the many, many things I go out of my way to avoid - shopping in supermarkets, travelling by bus, Adam Sandler movies - Facebook ads are pretty near the top of the list.

They're intrusive, invasive and seem to know what you're thinking.

Then there's the 'promoted' stuff, that suddenly pings up in your newsfeed because someone you met once at a party clicked 'like' by accident last Thursday.



But just occasionally it pays to take an interest.

Like when the picture has Felicity Jones and Christopher Eccleston in it.

A short film? With Jones and Eccleston? Tell me more...

A few clicks and £1.99 later and I'm watching a beautifully measured and imagined story about a woman who wants to just feel anything other than what she is going through.

So she approaches a man alone in a cafe, and starts a conversation with one sole aim.

And for the 11 minutes Emily runs for, you are captivated and mesmerised as - with subtle comic touches offsetting the tension - the drama unfolds.

Now, those of you conditioned to the ways of the multiplex blockbuster may be shocked to hear that you can establish characters and storyline in a matter of moments.

It doesn't take half an hour and 17 explosions.

Jones' darkly-twisted character is portrayed with subtlety (and a clear sense of delight and enjoyment) while Eccleston does brilliantly in capturing a man and the lies he tells himself to justify his actions.

First-time writer-director Caroline Harvey uses close-ups to great effect, while the sound almost becomes a third character as it punctuates the tension and accentuates the drama.

In 11 minutes, Harvey delivers a film with fully-drawn characters, great performances and emotional punch and heart.

And all for £1.99 to boot.

And you don't just get the film for £2. You get biogs, deleted scenes, the script - I've not purchased and downloaded aa film before, but if this is the quality of the package then I'm converted.

It also means you can watch the film whenever you want, on any mobile device.

Huzzah!

(All of this is an added bonus, it's the film that's the star here).



* You can download Emily at www.wearecolony.com/Emily

And yes, I know, I still haven't written the Ant Man and Terminator reviews. There's a reason for that...

2 comments:

  1. ...#genisys...it's cos I like it! Good review...you can show me today

    ReplyDelete
  2. ...#genisys...it's cos I like it! Good review...you can show me today

    ReplyDelete