BECOMING ANGELIQUE

Linzy Attenborough / United Kingdom / 10 minutes

Synopsis

Angelique is an actress with the allure of a 50's movie star. Around her, several signs look like a warning. Tonight from her bedroom, as she is ordering dinner at Luigi’s restaurant, things are going to change.

We rewrote the synopsis hereinabove. It is a pity that the one we got with this short-film’s submission straightaway revealed the ending, and maybe it has hurt our appreciation… Because sadly, « Becoming Angelique » struggles to really raise enthusiasm.

We enjoy the efforts implemented in order to create a mysterious atmosphere. Old-fashioned design, decor, props. Ideas in a couple of shots. A few unsettling-because-atypical elements. But it’s hard to ignore the form flaws: out-of-focus image, continuity errors, and even misspellings in closing credits. All this decreases the film’s seriousness. Surprisingly, the sound— an often-failed technical aspect in small productions— is okay; it may lack dynamism, but the voices remain clear and nice to hear.

The story per se is interesting, although it would deserve to go further. The first scenes are quite good but lead on to a hasty conclusion. And yet we do think the unity of time (here: one night) was wise to increase the suspense… Did the screenplay lack substance, or did the shooting fail to reify everything and make the editing give up some pieces in the last part?

As for the acting: let’s notice that everything leans on Lucia Edwards, only actress on-screen. Certain lines’ lack of subtlety doesn’t always help her shine, as well as the distance assumed during the pivotal sequence. However her performance turns out to be sufficiently honest and involved to make us relate to the character, and reinforces our belief that including more scenes would have made the whole thing better.

Conclusion

An execution that doesn’t really do justice to the starting potential, even though the stylish-thriller mood remains enjoyable.

C.A.

Will « Becoming Angelique » be included in the Official Selection for LCF’s 3^rd Edition? See you in December!

Trailer: