Living a Beautiful Life

We see a thirty-something couple, but never in the same shot. They talk about their privileged life in the most shallow phrases, usually facing the camera, as if being interviewed, but we neither see nor hear a third person. We also don't see their kids and dogs, whom they talk about a lot. The fact that they pose in their lovely LA home the way models would on a set for a catalog shoot gives the whole thing a slightly surreal air. Then suddenly, it just stops. I guess that makes it sound more compelling than it actually is. Visually, "Beautiful Life" has an amateurish feel, probably because it's shot on Mini-DV with the contrast settings all cranked up. Press coverage suggests this is meant to be a work of art rather than a movie, but I don't see how that helps. Corinna Schnitt commits a capital sin that goes against the nature of the motion picture: no plot. One-shot Shulman's stills exude more drama than this.