Raving

I'm surprised by the bad reviews here.

For a 20 minute short, I'm quite impressed by the story. It's meant to be a glimpse into a day of the lives of the two characters, a turning point, and it does this extremely well. I was moved by the characters and it certainly takes talent to do that in such a limited time frame. I particularly enjoyed the fact that certain details of the movie were not 'spelled out' for the viewer, instead the audience is able to use its intelligence to imagine the lives of the characters before they were brought to their current point.

I'd be even more awesome if it became a 2 hour movie.

I hope Julia continues to write and direct!

I can't believe the reviews I've read. As far as character development, it needs nothing more. The 23 minutes of film was sufficient to understand the lifestyles of each main character.

Zooey exemplified confidence, greed, understanding, as well as compassion. I think that is kind of difficult to depict , in the magnitude she did, in a short amount of time. For Mr. Noodle, he was confusing at first, but his character is where the title comes in to play.

Despite the age difference their chemistry was great. I wish we were able to see another 60 minutes of this fine direction.

Raving (2007)

*** (out of 4)

A troubled young woman (Zooey Deschanel) and a lonely middle-aged man (Bill Irwin) meets in a cafe and soon their secrets start to come out. The story is a little hit and miss here but Stiles shows some nice directorial touches and the two actors come across very well. It's never quite clear what issues are going on until the very end and even then it doesn't come over as any big shock but the acting keeps this short moving well. Stiles does a good job building up the two characters but a tighter screenplay would have helped.

Being a fan of Julia Stiles (The Bourne trilogy, The Omen, The Business of Strangers), I was curious to see her first effort at writing and directing. I was not disappointed.

Bill Irwin (Across the Universe) and Zooey Deschanel (Bridge to Terabithia, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) were both fascinating as flawed individuals whose past is a shadow to us, and who chance encounter brings about profound changes. There is so much here that a full length feature is worth making.

Head over to iTunes and download your copy to see a great first film by a great star.

I'm well aware that a short film gives little room for character development, but the key to a GREAT short film is when the director and writer develop the plot and characters fully in their limited time span. The same is true for short fiction. It takes someone truly talented to do this correctly. Julia Stiles has not. The audience is given no valid reason why they should care about either of the two main characters, who each have their share of issues. There is no logical progression in their relationship. Basically, it was a very frustrating 20 minutes.

I found Zooey Deschanel to be charming and she did well with her material. Bill Irwin's character is obviously meant to be played as a walking shell of a man, but his acting fell flat and was unconvincing.

All in all, this was a failed attempt at something that could have been a compelling portrait of a young New Yorker, a down-and-out business man, and the city they lived in. Instead, we're given a film that feels as if it was done on a whim with no care put into who these characters are.