Afternoon Tea

I enjoyed this film, acting was strong! It managed to create a much wider context through implication- I enjoyed this writing style. The ending was clever, and unexpected. The sound was great, the cinematography was great (nice wee Wes Anderson through the doorframe shot), the surreal lighting was cool, the story was great. If you twist my arm to nit pick, the gun prop brought the production down a touch I felt, it didn't look brill on screen even though it's clearly not a cheap toy/prop etc. I'm not sure why, I just looked at it and went 'that's clearly not real', and it brought me out of the film for a moment- which was crucial because it was a moment with a tonne of potential tension. I would also like to see a different cut of the film with a slightly more sinister tone, up the pacing a bit at the end, bring the shots in much closer to really freak the viewer out.

I love it when a film sells itself with its' dialogue and strong performances. This film certainly ticked those boxes for me. I got a little "Good Omens" vibe, or maybe "The Good Place" ? If a prime example of the basic formula, 'Hook, Hold, Release' were to have a textbook example: this would be one! Overall: top stuff, Can't wait to see what else you guys come up with in the future.

Peruvian tea = the perfect remedy to settle the nerves when you're on the run from something crazy that gets hinted at more strongly as the film develops. This theatrical piece was particularly well acted by the man in the robe, espousing the wonders of his peppermint hot drinks from South America, whilst his 'friend' struggled to stay calm, understandable given he was carrying a gun and his arm was heavily bandaged. Just about the right level of dark comedy, well measured and from a technical point of view the edit itself was on point. Plus really good lighting and clean sound.The reason this probably just missed out on the Wellington shortlist would have been a couple of minor things. Firstly, the whole story was essentially a sit around and talk on the couch affair, with just the bust in and finale to break up proceedings. This would have definitely counted against the team given the real time genre. Secondly, whilst I personally loved the script, as it's genuinely rare to see a team let their film breathe like this and world build, it was actually a tad slow placed. Just minor quibbles, though.