Mary Jane is just like many of her age - a heavy user of social media. Her struggle to connect to something that feels satisfying and real leads her to a dark place on one particular Tinder date.
It wasn't too long ago I was bemoaning the 'phones are bad' narrative of many short films, so it is at least refreshing to watch this one and not really have that same vibe from it. It does very much draw from the sense of disconnection and lack of reality that social media drives, but it doesn't force it too much. The focus on the dark tone and the lead character works well; it produces a sense of someone seeking something out - looking for something that impacts as opposed to feeling like everything is the magazines she foretellingly cuts up at the start. The plot doesn't do as much with this thread as I had hoped - the posting of the images seemed too obvious, and the logic in her getting away with it was hard to ignore (by the time of the second victim, how hard would she have been to trace?). The lead actress is strong though; she has a presence in the shot, but at the same time sells the character of someone who is numbed by most of what she sees.
It isn't as clever as it seems in the end, but it has a good dark tone to it, looks very good, and has an engaging performance front and centre.
It wasn't too long ago I was bemoaning the 'phones are bad' narrative of many short films, so it is at least refreshing to watch this one and not really have that same vibe from it. It does very much draw from the sense of disconnection and lack of reality that social media drives, but it doesn't force it too much. The focus on the dark tone and the lead character works well; it produces a sense of someone seeking something out - looking for something that impacts as opposed to feeling like everything is the magazines she foretellingly cuts up at the start. The plot doesn't do as much with this thread as I had hoped - the posting of the images seemed too obvious, and the logic in her getting away with it was hard to ignore (by the time of the second victim, how hard would she have been to trace?). The lead actress is strong though; she has a presence in the shot, but at the same time sells the character of someone who is numbed by most of what she sees.
It isn't as clever as it seems in the end, but it has a good dark tone to it, looks very good, and has an engaging performance front and centre.