One Night Stand is a very simple story. It follows a successful businessman in his one night stand that goes horrifyingly wrong. The whole story serves as sort of an allegory, for taking responsibility: he struggles with divorce because he failed his wife; she wants to take their daughter away from him; he struggles in life to find love – hence, the one night stand girl not really been too keen on staying with him. The story ends with the man trying to make a decision and the viewer analysing his or her own life. Will he decide to tell the police what happened? How would he explain what happened? It's the old-time human question: me versus the other - who's more important? In this situation we don't see a decision being made, so we're left wondering on both the characters and our decision: which is a good choice for a story like this.
It's a story that truly, carries some value to today's society of irresponsible behavior. But instead, like many films, scaring it's viewer to oblivion, or shocking him/her, One Night Stand stays true to itself and to events that are absolutely plausible to happen in real life. The simplicity is what makes it a great story instead of just dully noted "good story": it focuses on the life of the main character, instead of divulging in the life of the viewer. That way, the viewer is fully immersed in a trance and only wakes up in the end, when the story is over and the black screen reveals to the viewer his or her reaction and a choice: would you chose betrayal over truth? It's an excellent choice that short film filmmakers rarely make and it's one that not only adds to the story, but also for the viewership experience. Unlike many movies now, this movie gives you space for thought and your own interpretation.
One of the greatest feats of this short film, as mentioned, is at the core of the story. Two main characters, with normal lives and human-like issues and a plot line even a five year old could follow. The other good things about the film are the cinematography and editing, and that eerie music. The person who did the coloring for this film truly deserves an award: not one shot missed, not one frame skipped; it's a visually thrilling experience. The shots in general are very satisfying: you want to continue watching this short film just because of this. Many short films fail to achieve this: the filmmakers concentrate on the story, rather than a satisfying viewing experience. One Night Stand manages to do both. The other great feature of this short film is it's score: eerie, mixing well with the dialogue and the cinematography. The composer understands the story and how real life works: how we, as human beings reflect on these kinds of situations and how we feel when the looming shadow of indecision attacks us and he uses that inconsistency in his score. You can feel the character's feelings and the environment through the music.
The lead actor in this short film gives a good performance as a father. He is genuine for the most part and responds to his environment very well. He also has a fair amount of chemistry with his co-star, the female lead, although she does not have enough screen time to fully flourish. Combined together, the acting and directing are well composed features of this film. It seems well directed for such a good movie.
One Night Stand is a good film. The story is satisfying and understandable, the view is detailed and precise. From the technical side, you can't complain about this movie at all, also the movie's lead actors gave their best. But when you have a movie that's beautifully shot, with a good story and decent dialogue, the creation certainly deserves praise.
In conclusion: this is a short film that should be recommended to other movie makers as a learning experience in cinematography and storytelling. It's simple, captivating and full of life. Something you rarely see in indie short films. Good job!
Rimute Terra Budreviciute/Cult Critic/CICFF
