Mixing Spirits

A very serious film from a team I think weren't quite equipped for tackling this subject matter.

Write what you know, as they say, an I've had rather seen a goofy comedy about folks your age than a super serious take on something so traumatic as this, starring characters who I'm guessing were supposed to be a bit older than those who were playing them.

It feels like the most serious and heavy idea won the brainstorm - but often, and especially for young teams, I encourage comedy as it's a lot easier to nail the tone, at least in 48Hours anyway.

Things you got right: I do admire the ambition here, and it looks like you all had a lot of fun.

Things to work on for next time: Maybe something a little more lighthearted, or tell a story that comes from personal experience.

This could have worked really well if you'd been able to cast age appropriately or just told the same story from the perspective of younger characters. For example, instead of the brother being married (really?) he just needed to be the upset brother facing his own guilt. (which was a great character point) The exact same experiences could have happened to them but by trying to deal with it as teens the whole film would have been more plausible. If we'd seen more of the guilt faced by the driver then this would have led better into the 2nd & 3rd acts as she achieved redemption. The scene with the friend was fun and all but kind of a tone breaker. Likewise, I loved the doctor but his delivery meant he came across a bit more humorous then I'm sure the intent was, so this scene could have been cut completely.

Please don't shy away from doing serious 48HR films. You have the advantage of being younger so tell your stories from your perspective without trying to bring adult characters into it if you don't have the actors to play them.

After getting very tipsy at a party, a woman crashes her car and tragically kills someone, only to be freed 9 days later and get on with her life. Well, she would, if only the aggrieved brother of the victim does not give her grief and then become a constant in her life at AA meetups...

Yeah, that's going to be a pass from me guys. The age inappropriate casting was one thing, but the bigger issues I had with this film were the incredulous storyline and story beats that should have been gutwrenching yet felt wildly inappropriate.

I'm totally cool with suspension of disbelief, but, getting away with manslaughter when blind drunk? C'mon...and then the DUI killer connecting with his victim's brother? Whose 'wife' was out of town? It was honestly the least believable plotline I've seen in many a year. I just wish there had been some genuine exploring of the serious issues like the alcoholism, or the death of the girl, or the trauma for her brother, or growing to overcome these issues.

Your lead actress had good screen presence and serious 48 Hour films can be fantastic. I just think for serious subject matter you need to show impact, growth of characters or ideally both.

Technically OK. Some good camera framing at times, sound was mostly clean and editing fine. So you've clearly got the talent, I would just try a different approach next time.

Story: 1/5
Technical: 2.5/5
Elements: 1/5
Overall: 1/5

A serious story with a serious tone, which I think your team put together well as was intended.

Got to be honest, was quite boring watching it through. A version of the story has definitely been used over and over over the years. The audio could've been better. There could have been more angles and better shots used to cover the story - would have kept it a bit more engaging to watch. But with seriousness of the story, I felt like it needed something to lift the audience, whether it was another colourful character or a spin in the story - but meh. I also didn't get why the alcohol was invisible?? - but meh.. again.

Your actress did a solid job - well done there. The conclusion of the story was a good twist - which was a good play for character element that was given.

Overall - good work team!