...Jerome's Razor is beautiful to look at but there's not much beneath the surface. But not for a lack of trying, that's for sure.
The film is bifurcated - the first act has our protagonist, Jerome, living out the life of a mid-20s worker bee in his cubicle hive. Jerome narrates his frustrations in a detached, zen-like voice as we watch him fail to advance in life and love. Playing out like a dark, philosophical comedy, the first 30 minutes of 'Razor' is excellent if the production values occasionally show through. The pacing, the cinematography and the acting by Marcus Edward are tone perfect - qualities even better understand over time after seeing this screened in 2002 and buying it when it finally came out on DVD in 2008.
The second part as Jerome ditches his failed life for the west and here the film gets about as rough as the mountains that figure so heavily in the film. A dreadfully paced screen in a tramway station is followed by Jerome entering his own Hotel California, except this one is populated by mostly bad actors. To be fair, they're not given much to work with and since the audience isn't sure whether this is real, an illusion or something in between, we're not sure if the performances are intentional or not.
As Jerome falls in with a group of mountain climbers, the film drags but is absolutely stunning for an indie. I see why this film is called the best looking indie in circulation - high praise! Death, danger and overwrought acting follows, but the climbing scenes look pretty realistic and gritty. If the film comes out for rental at some point, I'd recommend at least giving it a look.