Goodbye Gilbert

This film freaked me the f**k out - very well done. There were some lovely shots at the start and the lighting in the room where the lead kept his hostage was so spooky and perfect. The lead was so creepy! I was half expecting a "it puts the lotion on it's skin" moment, the actor channelled the creepy stalker very well. At least I hope they were acting...tightly scripted and tightly shot. Very good!

A reasonably dull film with high production value. Cinematography was definitely the best thing about it and the prettiness of the film luckily draws attention from the lack-luster plot, mediocre writing and wooden acting of the lead.

This was the most intriguing film in its heat. The production - from the lighting to the colour-grading - was outstanding. It was a gritty, visual joy. The casting was spot-on and the lead owned his role. The story engaged me, drew me in and held me in anticipation. Unfortunately, the film was let down by what felt like an incomplete plot. The lead set the scene superbly but it would have been nice to have a deeper ending.

absolutely freaking beautifully shot. felt like it needed more to make it a complete story.

[Watched this in the screening room] This is the story of a man who is speaking to a mouse. He tells the mouse of a prince and princess.. and we find out he is jealous of the prince, and that he has kidnapped the princess. The film ends by him feeding the mouse to her. I liked this film, quite a bit in fact. For me I saw alot of underlying themes. The main character was older then the couple, balding, and unshaven, while the prince was young, handsome and clean cut. I felt genuine sorrow for the older man, feeling like life had passed him by and that he wasn't good enough for the princess. It highlighted the sad truth that good things bring good things, and bad bad... I felt that the older man was nice, kind, and loving, and only rejection had driven him to this point of anger, jealousy and madness. In fact, I felt such a strong connection between the two lead actors that for a while I thought he was telling the mouse about his past self.. but hold on, maybe he was? Sure the prince wasn't his past self, but could have been a very close match, with the main character bitter about his age and apparent loneliness compared to when he was young. Or maybe he had been a loser all his life, maybe he had been driven to breaking point... maybe he never experienced love when he was young and that is why he is jealous. There is depth to this story, and I'm glad they didn't explain it further. It made me think about life, about what we take for granted, and about how I would tackle the hurdles life throws at you. I felt that the young lovers were taking it all for granted, would they feel the same if one of them were ugly? I'm sure they wouldn't.. however I feel that the older man would be interested in someone because of their heart not what they look like (even though he is handsome himself). I could talk for hours about the meanings and thoughts this film evoked in me, and haven't even mentioned the symbolism of the mouse, why is he talking to it? Why a mouse? And why does he feed it to the girl? Perhaps so part of him is now part of her. The production elements of this film were spot on, big props to the cinematographer Allan George for creating a masterpiece to look at. I loved the lighting on the older mans face, bringing out his every expression and characteristic, and the shots of the young couple really made me feel connected with the story. The writing was good, it drove the story along and didn't bog down in trying to be clever, it just seemingly meshed into the film, well done. Editing, sound, music, all so subtly good that I can't remember any of them (In a good way!) the perfect example of how all elements come together to produce a piece of art, congrats to the director Ben Fowler as this film really feels like it has one goal, one common purpose and one direction. Finally the actors, they were brilliant. I loved the connection between the couple, I didn't doubt it for a second and they really brought a young naivety to the screen that opened up alot of avenues for thought, and the main actor.. very nice job. He fell into the character flawlessly and I felt a real connection between himself and the prince, himself and the princess, himself and the mouse, and more importantly himself and me, perfect performance. If I had any suggestions it would be that the colourfulness of the mouse cage detracted from the story a little, perhaps if he was holding the mouse in his hands the whole time it would have been better. Also if the girl at the end had been in the shadow so we didn't know if she was the princess or not it would have garnered more mystery, and finally I felt the end freeze was weak, I would much rather a freeze on the older mans eyes, or perhaps on the girls eyes. Apart from that, a really splendid film... I am looking forward to seeing you guys next year!