Murmurs

Ah, the digital age; a magical era when one can see one's movie completed with a minimum of budget and in rapid time. Or more often, no budget and indecent haste. This 91-minute would-be 'noir' creation (well, it IS in black and white) moves at a snail's pace and tells the story (such as it is) of a bunch of Wellington flatmates who mostly sit around smoking cigarettes (drinking game ahoy! Don't use anything stronger than beer, though) and talking about the rent, the dishes, the phone bill and other pressing matters. There's a faint smudge of a 'mystery' plot involving an absent flatmate, but don't get too excited (in fact, that should have been the tag line on the cover). Direction-wise, several shots are continued well past the comfort barrier, and one almost expects the actors to turn around and ask if the scene is over. It's all very well to get up and make a movie, but mood is no substitute for a good plot and script. As far as this viewer's engagement went, this movie was pure 'log fire' video.

It was nice to see a film set in the kind of dingy flat that I used to live in. The slow pacing and menacing characters definitely made this the flat you want to miss- it's nice to see a digital film that isn't simply a rehash of an American film, but really has a kiwi voice behind it. It was pretty minimal but I think that was the point to see the meaningless lives of these characters and have to suffer right along with them. I can't say I completely understood what happened to one of the characters but the randomness seems pretty much like how life is in when you are in your twenties and have nothing better to do then smoke and play Pokies.