The Elevator

How can.people.make such deplorable films? The acting is juvenile ,the dialogues contrived and the story line seems to be trying to create something out of nothing . The children seem to be obnoxious ,the woman a dumb erican blond and the father totally lost in space . However ,when you think what kind of audiences this film addresses,it's totally understandable. American films ,like almost all things American,are naive, unintelligent pieces of trash . And now the question arises : is there one single person with an IQ higher than that of a radish that would buy a ticket to watch this ? I for one stopped watching after 15 minutes.

I assumed this was a low-budget student-made film, based on the number of ratings and reviews, so I was not expecting anything good to come out of it. There were certainly moments that broke my suspension of disbelief; moments in plot that made no sense, ADR that sounded off, and brief moments of unbelievable acting, but overall, it was better than I expected.

In contrast, the main cast was phenomenal, both in performance, and in recognition. Imagine my surprise to see that an international director doing his very first feature-length film roped in three world-class actors.

In all honesty, it was the acting that held the entire thing together - as you may expect from a film set almost entirely in an elevator.

It was definitely slow to get going, though. It wasn't until the half-way mark that the plot actually got interesting. Occasionally things would happen that offered no value to the story line, and until the forty minute mark, a lot of it felt like filler, like the movie wasn't going to be long enough, so more scenes were added.

Nothing was more annoying than thinking something interesting was going to happen, only to realise that nothing was happening at all. I began to get bored after the opening sequence.

That being said, if you can endure the first act, you may be pleasantly surprised by the second, as things begin to pick up the pace, and the characters really begin to develop and take on their own stories.

In the end, I wasn't impressed by the actual plot, and its conclusion. It was an interesting idea, to be sure, but it made for a rather dull conclusion, when it was revealed what it's all about.

Basically, I was pleasantly surprised by the film, but only because I expected a no-budget indie film.

As a critic I indulge myself by scoffing at loopholes in thrillers that could not exist without them. I guess I'm seeking the ideal of a thriller existing entirely in a world of physical and psychological plausibility. "The elevator" is about as close as I'm likely to get. Yes, there are moments when I want to shout advice at the screen, but just as often the characters are ahead of me. They also ask the same questions I'm asking, of which the most heartfelt, in a thriller, is "why didn't we do that?" The movie, directed by Massimo Coglitore and written by Mauro Graiani and Riccardo Irrera, embraces realism almost as a challenge. The movie resembles a chess game; the board and all of the pieces are in full view, both sides know the rules, and the winner will simply be the better strategist. Once we sense "The elevator" isn't going to cheat, it gathers in tension, because the characters are operating out of their own resources, and that makes them the players, not the pawns. The shot combines physical and virtual camera moves, a reminder that Coglitore is a visual virtuoso. He's also a master of psychological gamesmanship.

This movie reminded me of the 1991 movie "Closet Land".

Movies with a minimal amount of actors can sometimes be overwhelming with the lack of on screen charisma, but these actors are powerful enough to draw my attention for the limited amount of time they have to tell their story.

What I like best about this movie is the ending leaves you with the question, "What was said in the middle of the movie?" If you had seen this in the movie theater you would have left with an unanswerable question. Classic move on the writers part, and classic movie for people that like movies.

This is a very underrated film which was surprisingly good.

Given that this is a low budget film (the title is a give away. 90%+ of the scenes happen inside the elevator, which can feel monotonous but the director/script/actors did a good job to keep my attention throughout.) You are made to choose which of the two characters is the foe and which is the protagonist. The movie does a good job in changing your pick through out the movie. And then there's a twist in the end (or a couple). The final shot is also an excellent touch. It gives some sort of relief that everything worked out as intended. Though some can miss it as it wasn't as pronounced.