The World of the End

I have seen several short films by Adam Bertocci and although this might just be one of his relatively weaker efforts, his work is amazing for someone so young and inexperienced. In particular, his LOVE: THE MOVIE and PAT GETS A CAT are terrific films and look quite polished.

THE WORLD OF THE END excels when it comes to music, dialog and direction though the story itself seems a tad incomplete--like it's part of a story idea but not the entire story. The film begins with a young lady getting fired from her job. She's bummed and after brooding a bit decides to head home to see her parents and get some TLC. However, when she arrives they aren't home and things end up taking an unexpected direction. This coming of age film is pretty good, but the guy in the convertible (the director, Bertocci) is kind of a weird twist--one that didn't quite seem to fit the rest of the film. Not exactly bad--just a bit out of place.

Still, considering his age and experience when this film was made, this short speaks well about Bertocci's future. Give it a look.

Bertocci never really seems to misfire. The quality may vary in his shorts, but he always does good work. This is carried by the style and the acting, both of which are rather solid throughout. Siegel, who we've seen before in other stuff by Guy in his Basement Productions, is remarkable. Mark is credible as well. Adam himself is fun to watch, as usual. The quirky comedy, whilst still a little present, is toned down in this, in his performance and in general, to make more room for the serious material, and it's pulled off magnificently well. This didn't lose my interest. The plot develops nicely and is well-told. The pacing isn't bad at all. The references to various films, and the one to a previous effort by the director, tend to be well-integrated. The visuals are just about invariably attractive, and editing and cinematography are commendable. The music is well-done, unsurprising when it's the work of Van Kapeghian(I speak from experience, he did scoring for me, twice, and I was quite happy with what he delivered in each case). I recommend this to fans of Adam Bertocci, and his releases. 8/10