I'll start this review by saying that I love Karsten and his youtube channel! I always watch his videos whenever I'm chilling and it's refreshing to see a "film critic" youtuber actually show off his ability to make his own films.
However, I went into this film with no bias and I think it's a fine short film but not one that I really connected to on a storytelling level. I will start by saying that the Karsten's directing style is pretty mundane and simple which I think fits him if you've seen his videos before. Even though I think the shots are clear and beautifully lit, I feel like he could've done more with the color grading. The shot compositions and frames are really interesting, I love the way he framed the necklace laying in the middle of the pizza box and the overhead shot of the father taking it out of the trash.
Unfortunately, the story didn't really click with me. I do think the story was effective in helping us understand the three characters a bit better (I'm not really counting the delivery boy or the roommate). It helps us show that a small insignificant keychain can have different meanings to different people, it meant nothing to the first guy but it meant a lot to the father because he wanted to provide for his daughter. I do think there is something there about how we put meaning into items for the people we love but I feel like it was never really fleshed out. I hope Karsten can explore this idea better in another LONGER short.
I will say I don't have any of these complaints with his latest short "Dirtbag" because I feel like he explored the concept of our attachment with insignificant objects better in that film and also I feel like he found his voice as a writer in that film as well.
Overall, it's a nice short film and I think it was a nice starting point for Karsten, I do hope he gets more experimental with his color grading, camera movement, and character writing in the future. Karsten, if you're reading this, keep moving forward and write a movie that is more personal to you because that's why we write stories most of the time. As a inspiring filmmaker myself, you're a very inspiring channel and I hope that you make more shorts so you can hone in your craft!
Side note: The real issue of this short was the keychain coming from a McDonalds bag, it broke my immersion XD.
