Mr. Allen

A Private Investigator (or journalist) is invited to solve a murder... but who's?

A perfect plot idea for their genre, "The invitation movie", with a delivery that fell a little short in the script-writing department but excelled everywhere else.

The only let down was the script writing - a.k.a the hardest part of 48. I was unsure what the tone of the film was supposed to be with the two leads firing one liners at each other throughout instead of actual plot propelling dialogue leaving key plot points like how the protagonist figures "it" out lacking substance or backbone. Although this is par for the course in 48, I felt it detracted from what could have otherwise been a very haunting, atmospheric film. This was only minor though and the film-making on display in this film is outstanding.

The cinematography, editing & mixing was awesome and the attention to detail with these elements made for a very atmospheric and enjoyable viewing.

Well done Team Spielberg

Opening with a splash, a retired Private Investigator is invited to solve a murder by a smart HER-like speaker. But think less friendly ELECTRIC DREAMS vibes and more sinister ambience. The new career of column writing can wait for the P.I. when there's a homicide to be solved.

Initially the first couple of minutes of the film had me hooked, and the really well shot black and white footage was done with such great contrast that I thought the team had absolutely nailed the Ultra requirement.

Now I appreciate having already generated suspension of disbelief with the A.I. speaker come to life, but I felt that the location teleporting did take things in a slightly disjointed direction. It felt like the idea was a dreamlike tone as per the synthwave washes at the start of the film, but the middle parts felt flat for me. However the culmination whilst a little predictable was particularly well edited.

The performance of your lead actor was really strong, and sound design was also solid. Camera framing was great at times too.

I think for mine the gravitas of the subject matter was something that I question. If I'm interpreting it correctly and there was no 3rd party here, then the act of losing life in the pool really needed a lot more weighting for me to hit the mark. If I'm wrong and there was a responsible 3rd party then I feel that a beat was missed there just in my opinion. There was a lot I liked but a clearer script whilst maintaining the oneiric atmosphere would have propelled this further.

Story: 1.5/5
Technical: 3.5/5
Elements: 3/5
Overall: 2.5/5