Smile.

Smile offers an interesting and dark introspective into the mind of its lead character. Shot in a single take, featuring a lone actor and set entirely within an old-fashioned photo booth, Smile is the kind of film that might lose viewers with more mainstream tastes, but there is much to be appreciated for discerning cinephiles.

Director and writer Adnan X. Khan reveals the true nature of his narrative gradually, structuring the story as a trip down memory lane for the character David, which eventually takes a turn into the darkest recesses of his psyche. By putting this poor soul literally in the audience's face, Khan is also holding up a mirror to them as well, using the film as a metaphor for the collective demons and emotional scars that are an integral part of the human condition. Under his direction, Justin Michael Terry delivers a compelling and believable performance as David, and keeps the viewer engaged throughout.

While Khan puts the emphasis on performance and narrative, as the film's cinematographer he controls the mood here by shaping Smile's aesthetic with meticulous attention to detail. Going to elaborate lengths such as constructing an actual photo booth that could be manipulated for the production. He crops the frame (in camera) to force the audience to adopt the perspective of the photo booth's actual camera, creating an intimate and slightly claustrophobic environment where the lens seems to draw the truth from its subject. Additional touches such as the use of old-fashioned flash bulbs add to the realism, yet it's Khan's timing with those flashes that lends a surreal quality to the unfolding drama.

Definitely an interesting film that is worthy of your attention.