By MALLIKA DHALIWAL · Daily Trojan
Posted September 27, 2012 (6 days ago) at 9:20 pm in Film, Lifestyle, Reviews
Writers often consider the short story the perfect art form because of its challenging limitations. But the same praise has, unfortunately, eluded the short film.
Often, short films are associated with young artists who have yet to gain the skills or attention necessary to produce a feature-length work. The restraints imposed by a shorter run time, though, often have interesting results, as is exemplified in the new collection Stars in Shorts.
Stars in Shorts, opening Friday at the Nuart Theatre in West Hollywood, is an anthology of unrelated short films with recognizable actors in lead roles. Though Shorts is a mixed bag, there are moments that shine. And fortunately, the star power helps these shorts gain attention that would otherwise elude them.
Steve
Colin Firth stars as Steve, an unbalanced man who invents excuses to interact with his young, beautiful neighbor (Keira Knightley). Steve is dissatisfied with his life, as are Knightley’s character and her boyfriend — but at least the couple has each other. Steve serves as a commentary on the loneliness and isolation of modern urban existence, and, as a short film, it is immensely successful. Firth succeeds in his role, incorporating sympathetic, funny and unnerving emotions into his performance. Knightley is also wonderful despite an unexplained Scottish accent.
Friend Request Pending
Friend Request Pending, a standout featuring Dame Judi Dench, ends Stars in Shorts on a high note. Dench plays an older woman who turns to Facebook in the hope of exacting a date from a man she just met. The results are funny and heartfelt, depicting the need for connection in an increasingly disconnected society in an original way. As Dench conveys her character’s confusions about technology and her heartbreaking need for connection, you can’t help but root for her.
READ MORE: http://dailytrojan.com/2012/09/27/strong-acting-saves-short-film-collection/
1 comment:
I've seen a clip from the short that Colin's in -- it was wonderful.
I hope this will get wide distribution. I'd like to see all of them.
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