Here’s a different type of review in store for those
interested in seeing films online, as we are moving more towards
online/streaming services for quality content as evident by the emergence of
fiction/nonfiction content in the medium.
Which brings us to a little sci-fi thriller short film from the country
of Australia called Tony, from an upcoming and talented writer/director/filmmaker
Perry Lam whose previous work called Tyger, a visual poem of atmospherically
driven films caught the attention of this writer. He has showcased a distinctively retro and
stylized look reminiscent of crime noir and thrillers, making him a promising
new voice of today’s filmmaking culture.
This is a unique film to talk about as it is beholden to the traditions
of the genre but with his creative ideas and passion for it, present within the
film. Does he continue to showcase his
talent effortlessly with a slightly longer format in contrast to his previous
work or does the film still have a few growing pains that keep it from being
truly remarkable? Let’s dive into the film and discuss the tale being told here
visually.
We follow an indentured worker named Tony (Ryan Sobolski),
who must maintain the power plant that keeps the world spinning with a singular
button. A doctor named Dr. Gibson (Megan
Barlow) scolds him for his incompetence and reminds him of his place in the
facility as well as his duties to maintain order among their broken
society. This is made worse with his
quarters being the size of a solitary cell with only a few remnants of
humanity’s items decorating his room.
However, one day, he decides to take a chance and see what lies beyond
the facility, by abandoning his post and making a break for the exit. His main goal, to escape and see what lies on the other side.
The story is condensed but filled with enough context and
themes to truly feel like a fully realized plot revolving around this one
character’s struggles and his desire to change.
It plays its secret close to the chest and when the real reason finally
is given, it does provide a different side to the story that is creatively
dystopian and adheres to the cynicism of the Sci-Fi genre with a clear
understanding of how to make an effective story within it. If there were a few nagging issues with the
narrative of the film, we are only given vague hints on how the facility works
as well as the conundrum that rears its ugly head with the questions brought on as the story draws to its conclusion.
Otherwise, the focus on Tony is compelling and a fully realized
character with a great arc despite the obscured and ponderous plot that goes in
one direction but never truly explores it due to its time constraints and
limitations from its story/script. It’s
still a solid and great effort from an upcoming filmmaker and the positives do
outweigh the flaws present in the short film.
On a technical level though, there are some truly inspired
creative choices made in making this film along with an ominous, appropriate
score with sound design and a great use of production design here with only a
few issues to mention. Let’s get into it
with the cinematography as it is both ambitious in its composition as well as
the claustrophobic look of the film.
Especially with the playful use of the aspect ratio, to visual convey
the size of Tony’s world and how enclosed it is to the widening of it as he
approaches freedom. There are some
clever uses of shutter speeds to give a slowdown, blurry look to the small
chase scene in this film, which gives it a strange yet dreamlike effect to the
visuals to convey the state of mind of the character. While there are the occasional out of
focus/rack focusing off by a beat in a shot and it can be jarring at first with
the aspect ratio shifts, the visual look of the editing from Maddison Chaplin
and cinematography is of great quality and shows a director truly showcasing
his voice in his work with the help of Director of Photography Chantal Jack to
realize that vision.
Let’s get into the production design of the film, done by
none other than Perry Lam himself as well by designing the setting of the film
himself. It has a very cluttered look to
the rooms particularly Tony’s bedroom and the industrialized look of the facility
from the corridors to the other rooms such as the interrogation room and entrance
of the facility. He really does an exceptional
job making the world surrounding this story feel grounded and claustrophobic. It adds to the minimalist approach to the
genre and relies on the conventions of low-key Sci-Fi aesthetics. For a filmmaker to really wear these many
hats and do them well, speaks volumes to his talent especially with crafting a
world that fits with the character’s journey to be free from the constrains and
closed in visual design of the facility.
Lastly, the music is distinctively reminiscent of synth
based, atmospheric scores of the 80’s and 90’s but used sparingly in certain
places but the oddity of the film comes from the sound design of the editing and
soundscape of the film. To start with
the flaws, the audio is out of sync unfortunately with ADR being applied here
for the characters, leading to some oddities of the voices not matching the actors
and room tone. If intentional, it adds
to the strangeness of the setting but if not, it seems that this was one aspect
of filmmaking that was the most challenging to overcome and it shows. However, the soundscapes of the effects work well
in certain scenes, especially in the opening and near the middle section before
the chase. The score by Jazz D’arcy captures
the distinguishing sounds of the synth-based tone for the music and works well with
adding to the desolate and moody atmosphere of the world. Overall, a valiant but flawed effort to make
the sound design of the film just as much a character as the visuals.
Score **** out of *****
Tony is a very atmospheric and character driven tale with an
intriguing, personal take on the Sci-Fi genre that does fit with the overall themes of the
story involving free will, slavery, and individuality. The performance from the lead Sobolski is
commendable as the conflicted, vulnerable prisoner in need of freedom while Barlow
as Gibson does a suitably fine job but the use of the ADR delivery for her
character made it hard to buy her as a threat. However, the film truly shines in its technical qualities, mainly in the
effective use of cinematography from the editing to shot compositions/framing
of the aspect ratios (cleverly used to visually showcase the awareness of the
world through the character). It does falter with the sound design with ADR and such but the music is sublime and works to create a distinctive auditory feel to the film. The story
while not quite landing smoothly near the end, is character driven and works
best focusing on the changes Tony goes through in his actions. This is a promising and quality effort from
a very talented filmmaker with a solid cast/crew working on this, to the best
of their abilities despite the flaws that keep it from being truly remarkable.
https://sofy.tv/filmviewer.php?c=film&f=255
No comments:
Post a Comment