Human Resources

Congratulations Stella on finally understanding how to upload this, from your friend Stella. PS. buy stamps

Here we have a textbook example of what I would describe as a cartoon come to life, and the film was all the better for the approach. What is seemingly at first glance a slightly low budget effort with cardboard printed backgrounds such as 'Temp Agency' to represent an office quickly reveals its true nature through exaggeration and absurdity. I also cannot help but appreciate the glowing neon lighting that radiated throughout to develop important story beats, calling to mind 80s classic VAMP.

The reason I'm drawing a comparison to animation is a multitude of reasons, from the ridiculous storyline of a temp serving Satan, through to the ultimate presence that His presence ends up presenting as, so outlandish that I would normally assume not doing them live action . Quite genius really to present evil incarnate as a loveable pooch that would normally be man's best friend. On that note, mad props to the sensational voice work of whoever voiced the dog which was another point that had me thinking how cartoonish the film was, for the better.

But it all works. The team threw the kitchen sink at the screen, but nailed it by playing it straight and letting the comedy shine through. Were they the only team to do a QR code sign in joke? Heck no, but they were the only one to pair the topical humour with an over the top tattooed punk reminding our protagonist to use the app.

And then it got elevated by giving itself heart (literally, the best use of heartbeat in Wellington was thoroughly deserved), and warmth with a change in mis en scene presented through adjusting hues and lighting to more reddish in tone, as well as pulling the film back into relatable everyday experiences like dancing with the pooch and giving it a bath.

The performance of the lead actress was also really strong, taking everything in her stride and nailing the believable naive temp role with aplomb.

As mentioned earlier, the low budget nature of the short was slightly noticeable and some audio was a bit echoey in the office, but the editing was smooth and camerawork really well framed, to the point that the visuals are something I think of really positively. Because that lighting was so damn good I am going to praise it again!

I did also like the ending, though felt it was possibly just a tad rushed following the excellent pacing of everything that had come beforehand. Overall really great film and so glad it made the Wellington final.

Story: 4/5
Technical: 3.5/5
Elements: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5