Thursday 16 May 2013
The Rest of Your Life [Review]
Posted on 10:03 by Unknown
Superheroes are everywhere. They've been on television in shows like 'Heroes' and in the cinema in many different guises from men in metal suits to teenagers who've gotten on the wrong side of radioactive spiders. But these films tend to have one thing in common: the heroes are all young and attractive.
So what if the superheroes were older but still with the ability to do amazing things? That's the premise of short film 'The Rest of Your Life' written by Liam Walters, in which a trio of pensioners in an old people's home face-off against another foe.
It's a superhero film without the trappings of your usual Marvel or DC offering with the most outrageous clothing choice being a flat cap.
The script neatly balances the plot of a superhero vs villain plotline with that of three elderly people passing the time. Lines such as 'You were late for my sixtieth. Twice' in relation to Bernard the time-traveller, 'You stand for those who cannot walk' sequence and the acting from Bernard in particular added to the humour of the piece.
The short film uses special effects sparingly but they work well, especially in the early digestive scene, though the smooth transition of Bernard appearing in a scene is undone with more lens flare than you'd expect from a JJ Abrams film.
The editing keeps the action going. A short tea-making sequence one-third in appears very slick though some of the transitions from location to location feel a little disjointed. The poker room, with its dark background, added atmosphere and, alongside the use of close-ups, jazzy soundtrack and witty script, made for a compelling section of the film, even if the use of the net felt contradictory to the feeling of realism developed elsewhere. The characters each had enough background to give the actors something to get their teeth into.
'The Rest of Your Life' suffered a little from inconsistent sound in places, going from great soundscapes, such as in the poker scene or the final battle, to struggling with background noise, but works more than it doesn't.
The conclusion to the film is dramatic in parts with a touching undercurrent, though the heroes never feel like worthy adversaries to the villain, and the nature of how biscuits affect them isn't very clearly spelt out and the effects on the biscuits is not as well done at the end as at the start and the villain seems to be enjoying being pelted with biscuits, with a smile on his face, rather than facing death. That said, it's a more realistic ending than most superhero films in that death is genuine.
Overall 'The Rest of Your Life' was an enjoyable short film with an interesting premise, supported by a strong script with a good collection of touching, funny and well-written lines. The actors portrayed the roles well and all brought their characters alive in different ways, but it was Bernard that had the most interesting material to play with, though the Colonel did enjoy a revelation in the piece. The sound bounced from brilliant to needing a bit more time spent on it, and the effects later on in the production lacked the smoothness of those earlier on, and lens flare felt over-used.
The shots were well framed with a good, wide use of interesting looking locations though the individual rooms of the old people's home felt disjointed but mostly the cinematography worked really well.
An enjoyable, pacey film that balanced the need for story telling with character development, with just a little bit more time needed to clarify the biscuit elements. But with many standout moments of character interaction that make you feel for those involved it really works as a strong character piece.
So. That happened.
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