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Reviews
Goodbye, Petrushka (2022)
Potent and humorous with standout performances from a commanding indie-director.
A whimsical Coming of Age story surrounding a girl passionate about puppeteering, who relocates to Paris to escape her mundane (and hilarious) film studies, only to find herself discovering what it is her heart really wants.
Performances are peppered with heightened, hilarious characters anchored by the very grounded, yet fearless Lizzie Kehoe as Claire. Kehoe carries us through the duration of the film with commitment and honesty while exploring an impressive range of the emotional spectrum. One can visualize her in darker, heavier subject matter in scenes such as a dinner with her Parisian crush (Thomas Vieljeux) where the Director, Nicola Rose, locks us into a close up of Kehoe, not allowing us to look away, and we don't want to. She's magnetic. To compound her talent, she nails the comedic timing asked of her for the majority of the story when opposite her quirky counterparts, like the eccentric, irrational know it all best friend, Julia (the hilariously concise Casey Landman), multiple public representatives played by Joelle Haddad-Champeyroux in various locations, and she melts our hearts across from the very forward Rafal (Bartek Szymanski). A testament to Kehoe's grasp on her position as leading lady is her ability to anchor a particular comedic scene across Landman as she yells taboo words like "Sex" and "Condoms" in a crowded bourgeois restaurant while mumbling funny terms for STDs like "Ball Germs" and "Testicooties", that could have gone off the rails with a less experienced cast and director.
Director Nicola Rose commands the film with a tight, well worked vision for her story accented with beautifully vibrant colors and a static camera that one would dare to compare to the critically acclaimed Parisian gem, "Amelie". Rose grounds us with characters who have very real philosophical and relationship dilemmas in a world leaning on it's humorous components, without losing the heart of the story or coming across as preachy and still manages to avoid being "over the top". Rose seems effortlessly capable in her talents as a Writer/Director, also displaying her keen eye for talent.
A particularly interesting bit is the insert of animation into the story, which felt fresh, welcomed, and not distracting, as Rose clearly defined the "rules of the world" without the film feeling fragmented or disjointed. The scenes serve to amplify Claire's fantasies, asking us to join in her dreams of "what could have been", juxtaposed with the harsh realities of a different outcome in her real life.
Ultimately, the film asks us to become introspective not only about what we want from life, but why? What may be influencing or distracting those desires?
"What if the light you saw in someone else was really your own light reflected back at you?" is the perfect concluding reminder that sometimes, we need not only listen to our instincts, but also consider what may be influencing them.
Evil Little Things (2019)
A Solid Debut attempt with Cult Classic Appeal
There is certainly a market and cult classic crowd welcoming Evil Little Things with open arms. I'm most impressed by the imaginative storytelling by writers Bakhtiari and Knight, seconded by the film being Bakhtiari's first credited film as a writer and executive producer, which you could not tell from the production quality and story. You really get to feel a passion for storytelling with this one, even if it isn't completely well-rounded.
Courtney Lakin carries the bulk of the acting talent here, but there is no listed Casting Director and I think that is where this film slips the most. Moments are off-beat or missed entirely by most of the cast and although there are genuinely creepy moments, some others just can't help but to seem funny.
The set ups and pacing of the story could of used some refining, but again, we're discussing a debut feature film here for the writer/executive producer.
Overall, an impressive accomplishment! Anyone working in this industry realizes how difficult of a task it can be to write / fund / produce a full length feature film, even more so without prior experience. You can find First Attempts all over Amazon Prime, but do they not share the visual quality of Evil Little Things. So thumbs up to Roman Weaver as well. Keep an eye on the double-threat Bakhtiari as an executive producer and writer if this is what she is capable putting together right out of the gate.