There
is one sequence that would actually be best deleted. At
the end of the movie, when James is most disturbed, he has
a dream sequence about his girlfriend making out with Claire.
As Claire is the life-filled antithesis of the death-filled
Gallen, them making out makes little to no sense from a
psychological perspective. Them fighting with one another
would show that James is struggling to decide to break it
off with Gallen-the safe choice-to go with Claire or rather
he's just going to stay with Gallen, but not them kissing
one another. [Note to the Director: If you were attempting
to show the audience that Gallen and Claire are two parts
of womanhood or are symbolically the same woman or some
other commentary, then you have to give that information
ahead of the time. Otherwise, the Jungian cultural understandings
rule out in the minds of the viewer.]
The
final issue of the film was in not showing us a very clear
view of what ways James has changed in the course of the
film. While it could be argued that James is now aware that
there is life outside his death-filled home life, we do
not see him in any way do any thing but dream about changing
it. While that can be enough for a slice-of-life film-as
Kevin Smith's Clerks attests-it would have been nice
to see some growth there. After all, even Dante owned up
to returning to Veronica at the end of Clerks, whereas
James hasn't made up his mind to do anything by the end
of the film.
If the
director wanted to show us that the tragedy of James' existence
is that he never would make a change, then something needed
to be explained in the film to showcase this. Using Clerks
as a reference, there needed to be an explanation (like
Dante's toilet-training story) which explains why James
is too afraid to do anything. [A Note to the Director: A
simple pick-up shot (e.g. as he's outside waiting to go
into his house) in which he starts talking to himself would
go a long ways toward giving the viewer an understanding
of what James intends to do after the credits roll. Or simply
using the footage you have of him standing outside the apartment
with a voice-over could give the audience the understanding
of what he intends to do next.]
Visual
Look
The
24P mode of AGDVX100A was used to excellent effect in this
film and it really looks quite sharp. The cuts to extreme
close-ups and the surreal phantom follows (short insert
shots that followed customers without the need for one of
the main cast to be present) also lent an interesting feel
to the film.
The
extreme angles and marvelously bizarre shots that were used
in the film were truly a delight to watch. Virtually every
angle a camera could be placed in the tiny coat room was
explored, which really kept the entertainment value up for
a shoot that could have quickly become dull for the eyes.
One
place that could have been improved visually was in the
use of dream and memory sequences in the movie. Sometimes
it appears to be intentionally misleading, as when Claire
is telling James a 'true' tale of making out with Kristen,
and we are tricked into thinking that it's happening the
same day the film is. Other times it's more clear, as he
sits staring into space, remembering a drunken argument
he had with his girlfriend some time in the past. However,
because the dream sequences have no visual difference, it
becomes very difficult to tell what's actually happening
and what's dream or memory. A simple filter put over the
memory/dream sequences would help out a lot, so long as
it stays consistent. Common dream/memory filters are oversaturation,
desaturation, or Nattress or Magic Bullet dream filters
which incorporate extra diffusion and tinting.
This
is especially true in the end, when there are a number of
clips of real and imagined imagery going through James'
mind that really confuses the audience.
Being
trapped in a small
cubicle-like coat room for a day...
...forces
the blocking and
cinematography to be very creative.
Use
of Audio
This
film has to have the strangest soundtrack I have ever heard.
The music is all very nouveau-edged, which makes sense with
the art theme of the museum but is still quite strange.
Nonetheless, its overall beat and structure fit the film
and, with a few exceptions, the music grows on you. In fact,
it ends up being so bizarre and out there, that it combines
well with the strange shots and angles to prevent you from
getting bored with the limited stage of the coat room.
Much
of the dialogue audio was quite good, though there were
a few parts where it seemed as though the audio track had
been accidentally shifted off-sync in the Final Cut Timeline.
This was most noticeable in one of James' memory sequences
of Jennifer giving a morning pep speech, which he recalls
right after he and Claire talk to some German patrons.
