Sea Monsters

Unlike most short films, Sea Monsters actually has a clear, strong story and a good emotional pay-off. The problem, in my opinion, is the boring set up. Very little happens in the first five minutes. People sigh, they stare, they frown, they say some dialog - but then, finally, we get to the point and the movie takes off and it's powerful stuff. When given something to do, the actors are extremely good especially James Midgely. I saw the film at the Tel-Aviv University student film festival, and by chance my guest for the festival was the writer of the script Raphael Smith. I asked him about the process of making this film and understood that there were many changes were made to his script. I read the original script and I think the original story may have improved the results.

This film is distinct.

The male character has a quietude that allows his return to the family home to serve as a journey into a dream-like nightmare of memories and alienation. He is at the age when he will soon embark upon making his own family, and the dislocation of his family from his present life elsewhere resounds clearly on the screen.

The particular strengths of this short include a delicate use of cinematography and subtle colour, performance and elongation/truncation of time and space -- reflecting the lead character's emotional beats.

The father's first appearance as a ghoulish face at the window is surreal at first but quickly contexualised in the film's naturalistic performance style. Details like this quickly become the film's strength as it charters the poetic elements of its murky seascape.

Aptly titled "Sea Monsters" the title resounds from this point forward -- chartering the chaos of the family dinner through to the melancholic reflections of the mother and the final confrontation in the green ocean.

A strong short film and very promising taste of a director with real talent.