Amelia and Michael (2007)
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely well-made short about an upper class married couple, Michael (Anthony Head) and Amelia (Natasha Powell), who appear to have everything but both are leading a secret life. When he's supposed to be on a business trip, Michael is in a hotel room with a prostitute while his wife is also with a lover except this one is in a hospital in a coma. I probably watch over two or three hundred short films a year and after a while they all pretty much bleed together so it can be hard finding one that's rather original. Back in the 20s, 30s and 40s major studios did a fantastic job with them because they were in high demand but in the past few decades it seems anyone can make a short and release it. The shocking thing about AMELIA AND MICHAEL is how incredibly well-made it is. I'm really not sure what the budget was but this every bit like an expensive studio film because the cinematography really brings everything to life. What really works so well here is the direction by Daniel Cormack because unlike so many young filmmakers he's not trying to make his film feel cool or something you'd catch on MTV but instead he really tries to tell a story and develop a couple characters. You might say big deal to that but it's very rare for so much to happen in just a 10-minute movie and I give the director credit for keeping the film at a slow pace, building up drama and most importantly building up the sadness in these two people's lives. I thought it was this overall sadness of the characters that really exploded out of the film and the slow pacing really helped this. I was very impressed with the two leads who brought a lot to their roles. Both really help bring the characters to life and it's not usual seeing such fine performances in a short like this. There's no question that the director has an eye to building up a story without feeling the need for silly fast cutting or constantly having the camera moving to try and build up some sort of style. The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's highly well-made and effective.
*** 1/2 (out of 4)
Extremely well-made short about an upper class married couple, Michael (Anthony Head) and Amelia (Natasha Powell), who appear to have everything but both are leading a secret life. When he's supposed to be on a business trip, Michael is in a hotel room with a prostitute while his wife is also with a lover except this one is in a hospital in a coma. I probably watch over two or three hundred short films a year and after a while they all pretty much bleed together so it can be hard finding one that's rather original. Back in the 20s, 30s and 40s major studios did a fantastic job with them because they were in high demand but in the past few decades it seems anyone can make a short and release it. The shocking thing about AMELIA AND MICHAEL is how incredibly well-made it is. I'm really not sure what the budget was but this every bit like an expensive studio film because the cinematography really brings everything to life. What really works so well here is the direction by Daniel Cormack because unlike so many young filmmakers he's not trying to make his film feel cool or something you'd catch on MTV but instead he really tries to tell a story and develop a couple characters. You might say big deal to that but it's very rare for so much to happen in just a 10-minute movie and I give the director credit for keeping the film at a slow pace, building up drama and most importantly building up the sadness in these two people's lives. I thought it was this overall sadness of the characters that really exploded out of the film and the slow pacing really helped this. I was very impressed with the two leads who brought a lot to their roles. Both really help bring the characters to life and it's not usual seeing such fine performances in a short like this. There's no question that the director has an eye to building up a story without feeling the need for silly fast cutting or constantly having the camera moving to try and build up some sort of style. The film certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's highly well-made and effective.