Irrevocable

I shed an actual tear watching this. Everything about it was beautiful: the shots, the sets, the actress, the editing, the pony, the weather. Dreamlike and hauntingly serene despite the clearly panic-stricken actress. Seamless; flawless.

Beautiful cinematography, grading and lighting with some great locations! Story and editing felt like it let it down a wee bit but overall the presentation was great! The horse and the slow-motion running shots were the highlight for me.

A daringly simple non-comedic script with few lines of dialog: the central character transitions between her real-life environment and an imagined landscape where she seeks to escape trauma and grief. As the pace of the film quickens and the editing presses and provokes Morgan's catharsis, we begin to piece it all together.... Despite its cutely literal interpretation of the fantasy genre definition, and some clear signs of post production time pressure, as a serious emotional journey the film takes some frightening risks which all seem to pay off. And it looks beautiful. i was involved with this film so my judgements are compromised. I thank RatEater for pointing that out very incisively, and i see now that i should make my position clearer. I hope its okay to rate/review this film - i find myself doubting my judgement and suspecting I'm a plonker for thinking this is a workable idea. But since I've been barging about like a bull in a china shop already, I'll stick with the course. As a soundy on the shoot day of this short, the reasons why it worked, i felt, were a complete surprise to me when i saw the completed film, and not really through any of my contribution i don't think. The metamorphosis from the scary nearly dialog-free script i saw on Saturday morning to this finished film was an education for me. In truth, it wasn't at all obvious to me during the shooting that it was going to work. It must take a lot of pluck to write and direct something like this and then a really solid directorial grasp to actually pull it off. I thought the leaps and transitions between worlds, an ambitious effect - done only with classic simple hard edits and not so much as a puff of smoke or a woosh on the sound track - were surprisingly effective. I thought the visuals, tension and music were excellent. I can't help admire a film that bucks the tendency toward comedy. I rated 'irrevocable' ahead of the majority of the evening. But I would.

I revoke my comments on nicmcgoo's review: they were unnecessary and irrelevant. The acting with some of the older cast was a little stale, however the main female looks like a shoe-in for best actress. The score had a great presence and an identity of its own, which I respect. The slow mo shots were world-class; the cinematography was thought provoking to say the least. I believe the story could have done with less exposition. I don't feel like the story truly developed, as I could see the climax coming from the start. However, what you pulled off is extremely impressive for a weekend of filming. I expect you'll have seats reserved for the city finals.

Pros: Some beautiful images: slow motion flowing white dresses, lots of shots with the sun coming into frame and washing out the shot in a dramatic way, and good contrast of the darkness of the real world and lightness of the dream world. Cons: I didn't really like the reinterpretation of the genre label. And I would have liked a bit more story.

Easy the best looking 48 hour film I've seen this year, the production values of this one were head and shoulders above everyone else. The subject matter was serious, the fantasy element was great, but I didn't think the Morgan character really fit the required profile and the other elements felt a little forced. But definitely put this one on your watch list.

Easy the best looking 48 hour film I've seen this year, the production values of this one were head and shoulders above everyone else. The subject matter was serious, the fantasy element was great, but I didn't think the Morgan character really fit the required profile and the other elements felt a little forced. But definitely put this one on your watch list.