Agravoy (2015) critique and Seconds (2016) reflections.
The film I chose was Agravoy (2015), written and directed by Jacob Nizzola. I found the film on Vimeo, but you can find it here. Agravoy is a creepy horror short about a stalker and his secret partner in crime. The film features three actors, Orion Ben as Woman, Barrington De La Roche as Helios, and Adam Nash as James. While I did enjoy the movie, the actors' performances were not a huge part of telling this story. However, each actors' body language appears natural, a feat unto itself. When the film begins Helios seems to be just another crazed stalker, however, after watching Woman and James have sex, Helios' furry tosses him into a violent rage. Helios struggles to open the door to get to James, but he's locked in his apartment from the outside. James sees the knob to Helios' place tremor and decides to open the door. Helios drags James into his creepy apartment as Woman smiles, and then casually walks to her apartment one door over, chanting rituals and exposing herself to Helios through a hole in the wall. We see the interactions between Woman and James through Helios's POV until the final scene. A frail wooden chair and old shredded papers decorate his place; the only light source comes through holes in the wall separating Woman from Helios. Nizzola, Anthony Neale (Production Designer), and Eben Bolter (Director of Photography) utilize high contrast and low contrast, muffled dialogue, and gritty set designs to create separate mood between Helios' rundown place and Woman's--seemingly wholesome--apartment. The sound team fluctuates between a string-heavy score and sudden silence to enhance the mood. However, overall the film parades a dark, romantic tone throughout. Agravoy features the typical three act structure. The beginning sets up each character; Woman undresses, apparently oblivious to Helios' stare, and James, when approached by the lovely Woman, takes her offer to spend some time together. Although I didn't know Woman worked with Helios, in retrospect, she's playing her role in the trap from the very start. Act two's conflict comes from Helios' jealous rage, ever growing through the film. Nizzola uses violent camera shakes from Helios' POV to demonstrate his emotions when James tries to kiss Woman, and during their lovemaking scene. By act three, Helios has seen enough and his attempt to break out of his apartment lures James to his death, the climactic resolution. However, there's a short epilogue where Woman's real role becomes evident. Lines, composition, and light subtly moved the point of interest from one shot to next. It can be argued that the Editor and DP's combined efforts stole the show. The film's pacing frequently varies. Editor, Thomas Jones, progressively enhanced the speeds at which he cuts between Helios and James, subconsciously heightening tension as the movie progressed. The imagery in Agravoy tells the story with little-needed assistance from the actors. Each department head used their influence on to create a gloomy mood which dominates the picture. It's difficult to point out individual units when the film works so well as a whole. Our film, Seconds (2016), is a risky attempt to utilize every department to create a movie that ultimately is a metaphor for something more. We used high contrast and a variety of angles to complement the ominous tone I felt from the script. While the film is about a drug addict, we don't see a point where the protagonist does anything to change his life; it's a gift from the judge. This approach to conflict resolution works for our story because the visuals reflect the off-center lifestyle the protagonist leads. However, we did run into a few issues during production, per the norm. As the producer of the film, supplies were my responsibility. Our script called for an insert of child custody paperwork, but my printer broke the morning of the shot. To rectify the situation, I came to set with a few papers and suggested the director use the actor's response to tell the story instead of the custody papers. We still planned on doing pickups before the final cut, but our professor and peers said the film didn't need the insert to get the message across.
Nizzola, J. (Director), & Tom van den Broek (Producer). (2015) Agravoy [Video file]. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/189560918
