The Chair (I) (2012) User Reviews

Jordan Peele vibe

[temiduropirisola · 8/10 · 11 June 2021]

The Chair begins with a promising and uplifting view of the bright blue sky, through the trees. A southern boy recounting the experience of losing his mother and the correlation of that with the mold outbreak in his hometown made for a fascinating storyline. The context of the film heavily juxtaposes the initial scene, as it begins on a high-note, yet the dialogue is nowhere near positive. One would notice a recurring aspect of the film in that it has many contrasting themes incorporating a sense of unease, although working effectively at conveying the protagonist's emotions through the dialogue and imagery. The protagonists' solemn demeanor was appropriate throughout and worked effectively in this film.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film not only because I am a fan of calm pieces with intricate and suspenseful meaning behind them, but because of the camera angles and the infrequent dialogue, especially the muffled one-sided conflict between the grandma and the trash lady. I found it interesting that during the momentary conflict between the grandma and the trash lady, the trash lady's identity was never actually revealed. I believe it worked perfectly in conveying the message that the potential solution to the town's issue was so palpable yet had not been discovered.

I would recommend this short film to those who are fans of Jordan Peele and his work. The film reflects some aspects of Jordan Peele's directive strategies, whilst maintaining its own originality and sense of uniqueness. Individuals who would much rather prefer an uplifting movie with dialogue amongst multiple people would not like this as it does not incorporate any of that. The choice of background music the director made at certain parts of this short film allowed for an eerie feel and created an environment in which one may feel a sense of discomfort, which some viewers may enjoy more than others.

Oddly relatable

[andrewebelher · 7/10 · 7 June 2021]

The Chair is a complex and emotional film that offers something of a complex look into grief. It tells the story of a young boy struggling in a town that has suffered a plague of mould. While this once would have seemed like a strange and alien world that they live in, as of 2020, we as a world wide community understand the measures taken to keep safe, much more, making this a more relatable film than it would have been when it first released. The dark visuals and persistent zoom ins, push ins, and zoom outs along with slight dutch angles at times help to provide an uneasy feeling throughout the entirety of the film. The feeling is comparable to that often seen in horror. Everything seems fine. But there is a looming presence that makes you feel as though you are being watched. And as much as one may act unaffected, the final words of the film leave you feeling haunted. Despite these strengths, I must criticize the monotone voice of the speaker. At times, the film feels annoying to watch as the monotone pitch of every word becomes distracting. I could not focus on anything aside from how painfully dry the voice could be at points. Overall, this film is worth watching for a short period of time. It offers insight into a fictional tragedy of the past that is reflected in our present lives.

A Passive Horrific Movie

[DukeVo · 8/10 · 7 June 2021]

The boy recalled the story of a mysterious mold that killed his mom and other lives that touched it.

When the boy's mom died, the scientists all came to his house and threw away her chair because it was deemed infected. Life was not going well for the town, people and animals were dying and nobody knew what was going on. All 4 elements of nature (Earth, Air, Water, and Fire) were "against" humanity. Everyone was wearing masks, churches were praying, and the chair was still there at the garbage station, unpicked by trucks. His mom's funeral was delayed because scientists were studying her body. His grandma had enough and burned the chair as a result. Soon after that, life was back to normal, it was peaceful. The boy wanted to know what that mold was, he wanted to become one of them to understand what happened.

The film was made in 2012, the year where it was predicted that the World will end. This movie in a way displays one of the scenarios where nature was against humanity to kill the species.

The final scene where the chair was burning and the boy wished he would become the Mold indicated a curse placed against living organisms. Normally, mold is not really considered as a harmful matter and in this short film, it was. The deer that died from the mold had no eyes and scientists could not figure out what was in it. Nature is big, and humans have not discovered all of it. Mother Nature can create objects that cannot be explained.

This movie matched the event of The End of the World back in 2012 and it really covered the People vs Nature theme. However, it can be confusing to many people to realize what was going on so it is also recommended to rewatch to understand the concept of the plot. Nonetheless, there was no adult scenes and only a dead deer that can be disturbing, any person from 14 can watch it.

Pure Cinema - short film gem

[shortfilmgal · 16 October 2012]

Brilliant short film which deservedly received 1 of 10 coveted spaces in the official Cannes Film Fest competition last May, and played to a sold out crowd. The Chair has been sweeping the film festival circuit with "Best Short" and "Best Director" win after win.

It is so rare to see such a masterpiece in short filmmaking. Every aspect of the film craft was excellent from the acting to the story to the cinematography to the editing to the sound design to the music to the lighting, etc. This film rings true of the Southern life of a people living on the other side of the tracks, in a genre all too often riddled with cliché after cliché, but Grainger David adeptly handles what very well could be true of "mold" in the mossy bayou-filled Southern states. This film is mesmerizing and unforgettable. Grainger David is a director to watch. The Chair is a must see.

Leaves you in your own thoughts

[saimek · 7/10 · 11 June 2021]

Mold spreads around the town and the narrator doesn't seem to have much remorse, but instead wants to feel that suffering. People around town get infected by this mold that gets attached to anywhere, fruits, furniture. This mold causes the death of the narrators mother, and no one knows why it happens. The burning chair and the symbolism in this film is very well done, the fire meaning purification but also meaning destruction at the same time. The sunset or sunrise that could represent a close to a chapter or new beginnings. I think that this short film is very well made because it leaves you in your thoughts to try and figure out the point. There are many things to unpack from this film, and a discussion that could be made. What I think could have been done better in this film is the camera shots, I feel that in some certain scene the camera work could have done better to make the setting more ominous. But other than that I enjoyed the film very much.

Cinematography Masterpiece

[karmasibu · 10/10 · 11 June 2021]

"Best short film of the decade" --That's the type of award something of this caliber deserves. At the beginning of the short film, a young boy has been told that his mother has passed from an unknown mold, all he is told about this mold is that it is contagious and spreading through their community but eerily enough the boy doesn't seem to be struggling to come to terms with his mother's passing but he's more interested in the mold itself, He wants to be the mold. This film is nothing but mind-boggling to me. Its use of a child narrator who has an extremely dry voice at all times strengthens the feelings of a mysterious missing disparity. All of this paired with the Beautiful film work gives a movie and almost Hugo(2011) like vibe. The comparisons don't stop at it just being from a child's point of view. They are also similar in the way that the protagonist seems unaffected by all of this and seems to be pursuing something that others aren't aware of. The movie did a perfect job in presenting a storyline to the viewer and the ending is something that leaves you with a feeling of wanting more, I can confidently say but there's nothing for me to critique in the style of Storytelling. Everything is done intentionally and purposely through the story. If you're the type of person to love some serious and almost apocalyptic storytelling this is the short film for you. I would give this a definite 10 out of 10 must-watch. :)

Eerie and Disturbing

[bbf-66289 · 9/10 · 10 June 2021]

Light casts a dark, disturbing shadow on the boy's face as he watches his mother's beloved chair burn at the waterside in the final scene of The Chair. All that is visible in the last few seconds of the film are the boy's eyes and part of his face, and the audience is left disturbed after the boy's final admission that he wants to become part of the mold that killed his own mother. The Chair presents a story of a young boy and his family living in a small town that has become infested with a deadly mold killing the residents of the town, including his own mother. This film, though short, feels like a full length movie full of ominous imagery and pulled together by the eerily monotone narration of the boy and the creepy upbeat piano music. The music choice adds to the overall disturbing themes and feel of the film, a mold taking over a town causing people to get sick and die which is very reminiscent of the current times we are in with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grainger David, a short film maker originally from South Carolina (where The Chair was filmed) created this film as his graduate thesis project from NYU. He was inspired to create this piece by the memory of his mother scraping mold off the ceiling of his childhood bedroom.

The muted and dark colours used throughout the film add to the overall themes of death and loss and can be contrasted by the scenes filled with bright colours that tend to be more light hearted moments in the film, such as when the children play down at the water at sunset. The use of zoom in shots is also a very effective technique used by Grainger David many times throughout the films capacity, and help to make the audience even more uncomfortable-my favourites in particular being the back to back ones of the chair and the boy sitting against the tree. If I had to give a criticism about this film, I would say that I wish there was more explanation as to how the mold was eradicated from the town. Was it because the chair (which is seemingly the cause of the start of the infestation) was burned?

Overall, I would recommend this film to anyone 15 and up as the film contained all age appropriate content, but I would personally steer anyone disturbed by the themes of diseases, pandemics, sickness and death away from this film as the content may disturb them as well as anyone under the age of 15.

Great film

[cbannatyne · 8/10 · 19 January 2022]

The Chair is a beautiful short film about grief. It follows a young boy who lost his mother and is suffering in a town riddled with a plague-like mould. As the mould spreads, more and more people are dying. "The chair" is a chair that the boy's mother often used. When disease control came to deal with all of the mothers belongings and take them to the garbage, the one that remained at the garbage dump was "the chair". Everytime the kid or his grandma (she had taken custody of the boy after the mother died) would go to the dump the chair was always there. It symbolised the boys' grief and the devastating effects it had on the child. This grief was in the shape of the mould pandemic. Once the chair was destroyed by the boy and grandma, the pandemic ceased to exist as well as the boy's grief. Because of the pandemic thepublic are having to wear masks in order to prevent the spread of the mould and keep themselves safe. Something so simple as wearing masks in public seemed almost odd at the time this film was released. Presently, everything in the film is much more relatable considering the pandemic we are currently in. Because of this relation, it develops more of a connection between the film and the viewers. The camera movement in the film such as the multiple zoom ins and zoom outs complimented by the amazing low light visuals creates a very eerie feeling throughout the entire film. It makes the viewer feel almost empty and allows us to empathise with the main kid who also narrates throughout the film.

Cinematic Excellency

[jaskeeratsingh-86063 · 9/10 · 7 June 2021]

The nature of mold, invading, suffocating, harming. In the film, the behaviour of mold is expressed in the bayou-filled small southern town where a teenage boy struggles to cope and come to the realization of his Mother's death to a poison that infiltrated their lives. This mold arises emotions of grief, anger, responsibility as his mother's remaining essence is felt through the burning smell of mold, the voices whispering about an ravaging unknown disease, and the symbolic chair. The struggle between the boy and his environment actively suggests the conflict of Nature vs Mankind and evidently proves this through powerful messages, clear angles, and thoughtful resonance in The chair.

Grainger David, an graduate from NYU, developed inspiration for his thesis project from his hometown of South Carolina, his curiosity of the perception of distortion growing up as children through tragic, dark, and traumatic events. He recalls the memory of his mother scraping mold off the ceiling of his bedroom after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. This drive for understanding and expression of own thoughts lead to the development of the short film which won prizes at SXSW, AspenShorts Fest, and LAFF (RIP).

From the cover alone, the burning chair captures a strong ability of perception available to the audience. The audience is able to hypothesize what the short film could be about and what to look out for which brings the audience into the film and indulges them in it. The bayou-filled locations give off the persona of authenticity and truth through the cinematography. The usage of relating locations allow the audience to experience the story as the right hand man to the boy themselves. The mold that travels in unpredictable paths resembles nature and it's unorthodox character. The mold represents the memories of his mother, the lingering words on the tip of tongues in the small town, the smoked and suffocating smell of burning, inhaling and exhaling all provide the boy with the tragic loss of his mother. The burning of the mold-stained chair gives the boy the realization and the reality of his situation that he's struggling to cope with. The burning chair allows him to accept his situation and begin his healing process and life without his mother.

A film worth watching

[liyad-71031 · 9/10 · 11 June 2021]

This complex yet moving masterpiece follows a young boy's response to a sci-fi like episode of poisonous mold in his town, a concept with multiple inspirations. As he is grieving after his mothers sudden death, the struggle to acknowledge the theory of science vs nature begins to conquer his mind. Throughout the film many questions arise considering factors such as nature vs mankind and the result of the infringing omnivorousness of the natural world . It's imaginative, one of a kind, full of exquisite cinematography, poetic, and creative. The haunting quality of the film is set with its visual excellence, passing on the proper balance of themes like life and death, suffering and bliss, and imperativeness and decay.

For his NYU graduate project, writer/director Grainger David drew his inspiration from South Carolina, where he grew up. Continuously fascinated by how childhood recollections tend to be misshaped with time, particularly when they stem from dark, awful events, he went back to a memory of his mother scraping mold off the ceiling of his room, after Hurricane Hugo in 1989. He created a film that communicates a combination of feelings and questions the relationship between life and nature.

As seen in the cover of the film, viewers become aware of the burning chair. The chair which was once supposed to represent comfort and coziness caused chaos and disturbance instead. The chair cursed the town with deadly mold which altogether created destruction between people and nature. Although we are all living organisms in the same community, nature is fascinating and unexpected. The circle of life brings endless opportunities for mankind but there will always be a price to pay.

Overall , I would recommend this to those intrigued by eerie or apocalyptic films. It touches sensitive topics such as sickness, death and diseases which altogether create an ominous aura. This film requires a bit of concentration and the ability to perceive the deeper meaning of the narrative rather than the obvious. Worth seeing !

A film you won't want to miss!

[ziyacassam · 8/10 · 11 June 2021]

Men in white suites swarm the infected home, ridding it of the poisonous mold that has killed hundreds. Director and writer Grainger David relates his short film to similar childhood events. He grew up in South Carolina and was ten years old when Hurricane Hugo hit. The aftermath was described as "distopian" with water damage and mold all over the ceilings. This memory shaped the haunting film, The Chair.

The mysterious and chilling film follows through the eyes of a boy reflecting on his traumatic past. While trying to make sense of the solemn events rupturing the world around him, he discovers a cherished object that could be the cause of his problems. The Chair captures the relationship between nature and mankind through various cinematic effects such as lighting, angles, and tone of voice. I would reccomend this film to anyone who enjoys small town films and dramas. Although this was a great film, I wish the ending was more clear about the narrarators last words about the mold and how it all started. The viewer is left wondering what caused the mold and why it went away.

The Chair by Grianger David Review

[aseelazzam · 8/10 · 20 January 2022]

The first scene of the film captures the audience's attention with its vibrant shots of the South, eventually continuing the viewers' peaking interest by using slow and dramatic cinematography. Grainger David intentionally uses this technique to introduce the haunting allure the main plot of the film revolves around. Grainger tells the story of a mysterious deadly mold through the eyes of a young boy whose mother was the first of its victims. However, as ambiguous as the mold seems to be to the people of the town in South Carolina, so is the depiction of this boy's memory of events.

The techniques used by Grainger in the cinematography sets a gloomy tone to the short film by using slow camera work, allowing the viewers to take in the palpable anxiousness and unsettlement the characters have towards this old "chair" which is viewed to be the point of outbreak of the mold. This allows the audience to be immersed in those tense feelings throughout the entirety of the film yet also question what the mold is exactly, and why was the chair seemingly the spawn of this deadly force. However, the ambiguity of this mold also parallels the ambiguity of the recall of events that happened as it is in fact described through a young boy's perspective. This, although warped perspective of events, was most likely intentional as childhood memory can be misremembered.

The inspiration of The Chair comes from Grianger's childhood growing up in the South and is clearly represented in his camera work and plotline. Despite the daunting events that took place, the "science fiction-ness" of the story captures and lures the audience to keep watching while emulating the faintly distorted memories of childhood events in the mystery that is "the chair".

A Fully-Realized and Haunting Journey

[benmagyar · 10/10 · 11 June 2021]

The Chair opens with a pan out shot looking up at a tree and the sky, below which a deadly mold infests a small town. A boy narrates the following story, exploring his family's experience with his mother's death due to mold, and the community's experience throughout this mysterious plague.

Written and directed by Grainger David, the film is a fully realized exploration of childhood innocence, memory, and grief. Every last detail of the film has clearly been precisely decided to convey the uncanny tone, and enthralls the audience in a gripping narrative. The sound mixing, score, visuals, and screenplay all mesh seamlessly, giving the film an enchanting and believable perspective from the view of this young boy. Accompanied by a melancholy score, the understated nature of the directing holds the audience intrigued but unsettled throughout, unable to look away from this just-a-little-too-realistic masterpiece.

Every factor of this film is cohesive, but immediately the sound mixing and score stand out and define the thematic atmosphere of reflection, and a strange dissonance. Beyond the drawn-out piano composition itself, the direction once again shines in the careful decision of when to phase in and out the melody. In the moments when sounds of nature overtake the audio, or when a slight ringing occurs, the dichotomy of the natural and unnatural is emphasized. Combined with the powerful and quiet performances of the actor and voice actor of the main character, these moments of tension truly draw the audience to lean closer in to their screens despite a nagging fear of where the story will lead. The story's direction fulfills every expectation of meaningful disquietude, encompassing an entire community's experience through the eyes and voice of this grieving boy. By paralleling the shots of the overgrowth of nature with the deadly, looming, and unexplained moss, David presents themes of interconnection, and a collectiveness between all that exists in nature. The conclusion of this film absolutely lives up to every tense expectation, and is unsettling to the core, as we learn that the most mysterious aspect of this film is not the mold, but the narrator himself.

Overall, this is a meticulously considered film that excels in many aspects. One criticism of the cohesiveness is the slight disconnect between the apparent ages of the voice actor and physical actor of the main character. It almost sounds as if the narrating voice is younger than the boy on the screen, however the voice is meant to be reflecting on his past self, who presents as older. The performances were still great, and the only flaw in the story itself is the slightly-unbelievable public access to a biohazardous garbage dump. These are small choices by the filmmakers however, and are not noticeable enough to take from the experience of the film as a whole.

I would rate this film 10/10, and would recommend it to any who are eager to absorb a fully realized narrative, that may be light on action, but use all facets of filmmaking to convey the journey of this grieving boy.

A Raw Perspective of Grief

[salamakl · 9/10 · 12 June 2021]

The Chair explores the concept of trauma and death as it takes the audience through the speaker's experiences with a deadly mold that has infested his home town of South Carolina. The audience is introduced to the story through the death of the speakers mother, as she suffers the symptoms of mold inhalation. The film proceeds to retrace following events of the town as the mold spreads to multiple families residing in the area. The original home of the speaker is inspected by men in white plastic uniforms as they sweep the house clear of its contents, taking the chair his mother died in as well as the remaining furniture to the garbage disposal. We observe how the once peaceful town quickly turns frantic as churches extend their hours to constantly pray, schools refocuses their curriculum to current events, and residents of the town begin to wear masks becoming paranoid and extremely cautious. Through the entire arc of the story the exact chair the speakers mother died in remains at the dumpster as we watch the opposing response to this from both the speaker and his grandmother that he's been residing with after his mother's death. The mood of the film heightens with the concluding scene of the film as the grandmother feels suffocated with seeing the chair and takes initiative to burn it. The film bringing forth shock value when the speaker reveals his wishes to become the mold that has become synonymous with killing the citizens of the town.

I feel that this film was really complex and showed a side of grief that's not talked about often. The idea of the speaker's mother dying in a chair started off the film on an interesting note and the fact that it was a reoccurring theme helped deliver a strong message. Chairs are essential pieces in a home, and when I think of chairs I think of relaxation and comfort. However in this film, the chair was more of a sign of irritation and discomfort creating a more complex idea that depicts how an individual can respond to death, and how even though it irks us to see something that reminds us of traumatic experiences, there is some sort of comfort in keeping it in reach. Sometimes all we know is pain, and we don't want to let it go, so we choose to hold on to the memories that remind us of past events. The repetition of animal comparisons sort of foreshadow parts of the film because they're used almost as a metaphor, and the mention of it of create added sympathy and put the events into perspective. The audience watching in the point of view of this speaker makes us feel curious to the chair and its significance. The speaker's wish to become the mold portrays a side of human response to death and how an individual might want to suffer pain as a form of coping with grief. I'd recommend this short film to individuals intrested in exploring philosophical concepts and to those who like to think about abstract ideas. This film is suitable to audiences over the age of 14, though I would suggest audiences sensitive to topics of sickness, disease, pandemics, and death, to avoid a film like this as it doesn't shy away from explicit detail.

A Great Ambient Thinker Film

[merlins-39196 · 8/10 · 17 June 2021]

The Chair centers around a young boy's experience during an infectious outbreak called "the mould", which takes place after the sudden death of his mother - patient zero. The young boy narrates the film, and often talks about his mother's chair, or what other people have had to say about the chair. The cinematography and editing style combined with the sound engineering, make up all the great hall marks of a psychological horror, and it makes for very interesting social commentary on an epidemic nowadays. In particular the scene of the masked children swaying on the school bus is very interesting to see knowing it was nine years ago. I would highly recommend this short film to anyone who has twelve minutes and likes a good ambient thinker, especially in this day and age where the plot has much more relatability.

Inconclusivity

[donelk-30746 · 9/10 · 15 June 2021]

After the passing of a small town devastation, a young boy recounts the tale of how a poisonous mold in an old living room chair, sponsors the undoing of his life. The opening lines of the film detail a reflective and progressive unfolding of the events that lead up to the death of his mother, in her favourite chair, while slowly providing a glimpse into life under a health crisis. In the eyes of his town, the mold became the unspoken object of fear, uncertainty and death, capable of imposing itself on unsuspecting victims. The mystery behind the source of the mold shakes the very fabric of his community by creating opinionated stances on its treatment and meaning. The science world deemed the mold to be an unpreventable occurrence even though the source remained unknown. The school claimed to have an understanding of it all, teaching their students the basic standard of care, while being confused and petrified themselves. The church called for the start of a curse, a hex almost, that surfaced as a result of a fallen enemy. With these perspectives, the boy found no solace in trying to locate the source of his hurt. All he and his grandmother knew was that the chair his mother once sat in, which once gave her rest and entertainment, now proved to be the source of her demise. If it were only for the chair...

Stylistically, the film imposes mystery through the boy's account of "men in white" to "yellow tape" surrounding the home and their possessions alongside the complaint of a smell that only he could locate. This attention to eerie details told as a past event displays the protagonist's understanding of the events occurring around him with a child-like innocence in explaining complex situations. He often adds an effective outlet for comedic relief through almost unrelated detail in the description of seemingly forgettable features. This aids to redirect the audience's attention to the subtle transitions and internal conflict that him and his grandmother feel towards the chair, a symbol of the past and the perpetuation of their suffering. The hatred they both share towards the chair soon becomes the source of captivity for them as it reentraps them to the beginning of their misfortune. In the end, the young black male describes an unlikely infatuation with the subtlety of the mold being able to consume all that it saw and reduce everything around it to itself. He later describes how he wishes to have been consumed in the same way, slowly taken over by a mold that unifies the victims it steals and slowly returns to the ground.

This film is an excellent representation of helplessness and individuals in need of answers rather than subtleties. It appeals to those who desire a solution or final answer from their society or imminent surroundings only to be presented with inconclusivity. The film shows how navigating through inconclusivity gradually costs the loss of objectivity, where the boy and his grandmother resulted in hatred for the chair. It is through the exploration on this truth, told through film shines in.