This short film has some nice ideas and themes at its base and there is potential there that this film could have been a sweet and quirky romantic comedy and it is a shame then that it isn't. The plot sees Cassie fantasizing over her therapist who then ends his treatment with her. I really can't say too much more on the plot because it moves so quickly through so little that it is best to at least leave something for you to discover yourself. The problem with it is that we are thrown into this situation rather than introduced; there seems to be no time to let us grow into the film and understand Cassie, instead we literally jump to the punch, then jump to the next punch, then jump to the punch- line and out.
This pace and this sort of delivery can be effective but here it isn't, it just feels rushed and we are very quickly asked to pick up with the characters and scenario and just go with it, but at the same time never given a time to do so. This feeling isn't helped by the rather heavy manner of delivery – this is a film that doesn't really have a deft touch when it comes to the romantic stuff. Instead it is hammered home with generic music and obvious shorts; the central drama of the conclusion feels artificial too, like it just wanted something to happen regardless of whether it really worked or not.
Restivo and Pastides match the feel of the film in this way; they don't feel like characters and I felt they lacked chemistry with one another and with the camera. The technical delivery of the short is good in some ways but the sense of pushing things too much and lacking a good touch continued here, with excessive coloring, framing and other visual devices. Perfectly Normal does have some slight charm but for me it was lost in the pushing of characters and material combined with a lack of deft handling or subtlety.
