Identiteaze

First, I'm trying not to be parasocial here. I have followed Jessie Earle for a while and in general I like her content. So, you might want to keep that in mind.

I do like the idea of the movie. The themes are kind of in-your-face, but you have to do that in a short (even if this is pretty long for a short), where you don't have the length of a feature to explore these ideas. I'm boringly cis, but it's not hard to identify with what's going on.

The problem is that the dialogue is awkwardly cliched and I mean distractingly so. This is weird as Earle is a writer in her dayjob. The script definitely could have used another pass with just trying to say these things aloud. I mean, that is the place where you can do the cheapest work to improve the quality of the work as a whole in a small budget production such as this.

In the end, there is much to like here, but the dialogue does take away quite a bit.

I didn't really know what to expect exactly, but i thought it was well done. The performances were solid, and the dialogue worked for me. Don't want to say too much without spoiling something, but our two main characters and the actors who play them do a very good job of being distinct and yet having some essence in common. Part of that is the dialog and part of that is the actor. The sterile look works for what this is about; and that ending is eerie. The use of a turntable was particularly interesting; given how often records tend to scratch (around me anyway). And the song is a banger. I'm very glad I watched it; movies with horror undertones don't tend to appeal to me; but this one worked.

No spoilers here.

As I mentioned in the title, I was hoping for and expecting more. I am familiar with the writer and a few of the actors, and I generally enjoy things that they produce. This is not the case here, as the writing feels very stilted and heavy on clichés, and the actors generally do a good job with the material that they are given to work with.

You would likely be better served watching something else, like Cube, and supporting LGBTQ+ stories elsewhere. The themes and ideas of the short are good ones but feel to be applied very poorly. Questions of identity in identiteaze is almost as comically simplistic as a bad episode of Star Trek.

This short film reminded me of the TV show Severance, but where Severance provided enough information to generate specific questions about the core mysteries of the story, Identiteaze gave too few clues to spark an investment in the story. The visuals were good and the actors did well with what they were given. Much of the dialogue was repetitive or frustratingly vague, including a convoluted series of musical metaphors. I appreciate that this is a sincere effort from a cast and crew comprised of people often underrepresented in media, and I generally enjoy science fiction that explores elements of the human experience, including gender. The execution just didn't work for me.

From the brilliant mind of revolutionary artist Jessie Earl, Identiteaze is a stunning and captivating sci-fi short film. Set in a virtual reality limbo in a dystopic corporate controlled future, the film centers around two strangers with missing memories faced with an impossible decision and an unknown fate. An astounding cast, amazing writing and direction, and beautiful visuals highlight this exploration of identity, conformity, our place in the world, and what we owe to each other. Lovingly made by true fans of science fiction, the film features numerous nods to iconic works that aren't necessary for your enjoyment but that enhance the experience greatly if you are. The allegorical exploration of queer identities is heart wrenchingly potent, and relatable to anyone who's ever struggled to know who they are or what their place in the world should be. I cannot recommend this film enough. It is fully worth a membership to Nebula for this film alone!