And Good in Everything

Nice heartfelt film, with good locations, solid camera & lighting and great sound work. All these plus some candid feeling performances (and an honourable dedication to losing one’s facial hair) bringing this delightful script to life.

Three guy friends meet in a bar (after 4 years? or is this a yearly catch-up?) to explore what they've been up to. One's got a shirt 'n' tie job, one's going to be a dad, and one is thinking about giving up on his dream. They flashback to times they've had together where each of them has exhibited the skills/attributes that allay fears they might have about their current or pending situations.

For me, this felt more like a coming-of-age story than necessarily an anniversary-heavy one but what are you going to do? Anniversary is one that needs something else attached to it. As such, this is a well-written script, obviously, dialogue-heavy and while the situations of the blokes are pretty cliche, the actors do a great job in delivering the material. It's all very sweet and devoid of any real conflict outside of personal uncertainty. The guys have each other's back though which I guess is a refreshing change to see in this type of film - certainly they're no dickheads. It's just a bit too saccharine for my tastes.

Camerawork, lighting, direction, editing and sound are all very deliberate and someone certainly likes a bit of lens flare. I'd expect to see this go further in the competition. Well done!

One of the most wholesome stories we got this year, showcasing a very relatable stage in life for many people. The 3 leads had fantastic chemistry, the script felt natural and convincing, the visual look was one of the best this year too. I think I missed if it was an obvious 'anniversary reunion' of some kind, but I imagine that was the intent.

Pie Face have a history of getting snubbed come finals selection but this may be your tightest film to date so I'm hopeful you'll get finals and swipe up some nominations as well, nice job team

The editing in this is top notch 🤯

Been trying to put my finger on this one for a while and whilst I liked the real positive vibe that Pie Face had going here, like legitimately wholesome filmmaking (and I'm pretty reluctant to use that word unless I really mean it) I'm just not sure if either the plot or subject matter led to great cinema even when a number of the parts of it were highly enjoyable.

A cast of characters meeting in a bar that have differences in how they are portrayed can work incredibly well; Cheers (The TV Show) obviously, and a lot of the best segments of both The League and The Simpsons are centered around bar tales. But typically there is something driving the narrative that incorporates the bar as an important element. Here the same story could kind of have been told anywhere?

It's probably an illogical gripe in many respects because the film had some lovely presented themes of always looking out for your mates, never giving up on your dreams and that people can change over time. So whilst marginal I'm ok with this getting a genre pass mark because of how important the passage of time was to the narrative.

Performances really solid, technically super clean and well done making the Christchurch short list. Plus props to the actor who pulled the old shave the beard off for 48 Hours to appear younger trick, I think ultimately the film just needed some more elevated moments; it really did get there with the Shakespearean loving actor, but I would have loved for some more big moments. Like having a kid, that's huge! Whereas I felt like that sort of enormous reveal was positive but not exactly engaging.

What was the dramatic question at all, really? As a slice of life this film worked well, nothing really wrong with it persay, but I just wish it had bigger story beats (there were some mind you, such as the guy being topless when younger) and a more cohesive clearer narrative. Again, just my 2c.

And who's the gatekeeper? The people preventing him from acting?...Himself??

Story: 3/5
Technical: 4/5
Elements: 2/5
Overall: 3/5

Wholesome has been used in the reviews already, and that really sums it up. Sweet, heartfelt, a snapshot of where these men are at at this time. The performances were really solid, its filmed well, though I thought the dialogue in the middle became laboured and could've been cut down a bit. I had it on the bubble for the city final, and on reflection I am really looking forward to seeing it again on the big screen!

A lot of truly impeccable work has gone into AND GOOD IN EVERYTHING, which boasts a dazzling technical side that is near-flawless. From directing to cinematography to sound design to the production design to the editing, this is a film which is super clean, and super consistent.

Editing conversations can be way harder than people think, with a thousand different continuity problems creeping your way, but I haven't noticed any in this film in the dozens of times I've watched it, it seamlessly jumps between close-ups and wide shots without any glitches, and carries an audio bed which is thorough and clean - the bar atmos is doing a lot of work, but even the best films in the competition may end up having some inconsistent white noise or static audio between shots - but this film is hella tidy in that respect.

I've been umming and ahhhing over the actual story for quite some time now, and I'll be honest, it's one I've struggled with and I think MistaTeas put it best above - I think here we have a story that's just a bit too saccharine to really impact me emotionally, and this is coming from a guy who has a few sickeningly sweet 48Hour films under his belt.

Another more AJian way to phrase my issues - I think this film needed more sex. Lol. By that I don't literally mean the lads should be ripping each others' clothes off and going at it on the table, I'm more referring to the lack of edge in this film, a film about a gang of lads getting a bit tipsy and reflecting on their life, but their experiences and the things they say seem censored and squeaky clean in a way I just don't personally recognize.

This could very well just be my taste, but there's a strange vibe to the film created from it discussing and portraying worldly characters and ideas, but then depicting PG content - the boys recall their high school formal where they walked in on their mate in his underwear, and yet in the flashback he's merely shirtless, and all 3 act as if this is the most embarrassing or traumatizing thing they could ever see - but I've probably seen most of my (male) friends shirtless and it's fairly normal - I think he should have been buck naked! We should have seen some ass! Someone should have said "fuck"! The dirtiest word we hear in the whole film is "nipples", and I think we can all stand to be a bit sexier than that.

This sweetness extends into other areas too, which I think in general weakens a story which has such a soft conflict at its center - Our actor boy states he's thinking of giving up acting, and we cut to a flashback where one of the others literally says "you can't give up acting". It's very blunt, and very convenient storytelling. I think there would maybe be a benefit in focusing in on one of their stories and not all 3, and the one I would pick would have been the soon-to-be-dad who leaves the table for a good chunk of the film.

I think what highlights a lot of my hang ups with this film, is there is genuinely a very relatable and heartfelt truth at its core - Looking back on your life and how you and your pals have changed and how you will continue to change, is a profound reality and a frankly wonderful dramatic idea to explore, and one I've seldom seen in the competition, but it's often the type of internal story which better suits propping up a more action packed external story, OR these emotional stakes should be much higher than "not too sure about being a dad" or "Idk if I wanna keep being an actor". These arcs are resolved without really any struggle, and I think if one of the characters had been super depressed, or burnt out or facing a tragedy, or maybe even a more immediate time pressure ("I gotta catch a flight!") then this film would have been a bit more exciting, and lived up to the glorious technical side.

Challenge for next year: Well, certainly keep your cinematographer/soundie/editor! The directing is also very consistent, and its not so much the performances I take issue with, but the story. I want you guys and gals to take the world class filmmaking ability and apply it to a story with higher stakes and more conflict and more earned character resolution. And I think one of the characters should say "fuck" or "shit" or something.