 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Expiration - 9/25/03 - R - 102m - DVD
Gavin
Hefferman - Sam
Janet Lane - Rachel
Erin Simkin - Niki
Director: Gavin Hefferman
Written by: Gavin Hefferman
Studio: Sunchaser Pictures
Official
Website
JEF
This film is what you would call an independent film. Some of
the talent was what you might call “non-professional”, for
example; college students, actors and actresses who may have never appeared
in another film, and even just people who auditioned for the film when
they heard about it on a website. That being said, you have to sort of
set yourself in another frame of mind when viewing an independent film.
When you go to your local mega-multiplex theatre you are used to seeing
the top budgeted Hollywood movies. Dazzling special effects, actors or
actresses who are paid millions of dollars (usually upfront), and a movie
that may have had thousands of people working on it, from production staff,
all the way down to the caterers, and limo drivers. The typical Indy film
is usually done for the love of film, and hardly ever will the makers
see a return on the amount of money invested in it. It’s a perfect
example that film is an art form that we often tend to loose track of
when we see the multi-million dollar big budget films.
So it’s with a heavy heart I have to give Expiration a red light
rating.
Storyline: The film revolves around several characters
that all seem to cross paths on one eventful night in a seedy section
of a city in Canada. The two main characters are long time friends, who
are now boyfriend girlfriend. On a special night, they drive into the
city for a celebration dinner. After the dinner is when things start to
get interesting. I won’t describe all the twists and turns the movie
takes; it is better for you to view this first hand.
Without giving too much away about the storyline, I will say that is where
the movie fell short for me. I just found some of the situations a bit
too unbelievable for me. I’m willing to entire that magical realm
of “suspension of reality” while watching a movie as much
as the next guy, but there are limits for all of us, and this one crossed
that limit for me.
Now, that being said, I would like to give some compliments to the film
in areas that it deserves… The cinematography was outstanding. The
lighting, and focus to detail in composing a frame was great. There were
scenes that visually would set the mood, like a wide shot of a single
person walking down the middle of a street. Or a long distance shot of
a large neon lit cross that seemed to hover just above the tree line of
the top of a mountain. Not to mention the attention to color… from
the red room at the restaurant, to the blue sky and lake, to the fantastic
sunsets and sunrises. I also liked the way some of the shots started out
blurry or out of focus, only to come into sharpness as the scene begins…
I couldn’t tell if this “effect” was used in relation
to just one character, but It was nicely done.
I found the sound quality a little lacking, in that the actors voices
seemed either too soft, or like it was over dubbed at a later time, and
it was a little too obvious. I did like the use of some of the background
sound though.
I have to admit one more thing that I did like about the DVD… It
had a small documentary special feature that gave you a brief behind the
scenes view of what went into the making of this film. I found the documentary
much more interesting, than the film itself. And a special nod to one
of the production/cameramen who used some Lego like blocks to create a
small moving pan table for the camera, so they could get a smooth pan.
Such an ingenious idea using probably 35$ worth of Legos to create an
effect that really worked.
So again, I feel bad to give this film a red light rating due to the storyline
and shall we say some less than believable acting (there’s a reason
why a professional actor/actress is paid the big bucks… not everyone
can act). This is when it’s very difficult to be a “critic”
because it’s easy for me to sit here and tell you what I didn’t
like or liked about the film, but that’s not to say what these people
went through to pull off a piece of art. Even though I’m giving
this a red light, it in no way is meant to demean the work and talent
that did go into the making of this film. It just didn’t pull together
for me.
If you get the chance, I would say to rent, or borrow this DVD if possible.
You may like or dislike the storyline that depends, but rather to see
what a true indy film is like that’s shot on all digital, and edited
on a handful of computers (looks like they used Final Cut Pro on the Macintosh).
Where the people participating in making the movie are doing it for the
love of film, and not some big paycheck.
Jef
Here’s what Lyn thought…
