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365 Films in 2012
24. Strings (dir. Rob Savage, UK, 2012 [unreleased])
A small group of teens (Philene Lembeck, Hannah Wilder, Oliver Malam and Si Akbar Ali) face problems of intimacy and fear of the future.
So I can’t really give a completely clear, objective view of Strings; Rob and I have been friends for nearly 4 years now, and I played a part in the production of the film. I read the script, when it was written as a short film; I read the first feature-length draft; I was on set a lot during the shoot, and again during re-shoots. I even acted in it in a minor role, but since the 50 hours of footage have been cut down to a mere 85 minutes, my lines have all gone. This was the first time Rob screened the film for the cast and crew, and it was not entirely finished. Some of the audio needs tightening with the ADR recorded earlier this week, and it is still waiting on Johnny Clyde’s score.
What I can comment on is Rob’s beautiful cinematography. His editing is fantastic. The actors are all wonderful. I think a lot of people who see the film may not like it; it is very stylised and that will no doubt discourage some audiences. What the film has in bucketloads, and probably moreso than any other teen angst I’ve ever seen*, is empathy. The characters can be likeable or not, timid, withdrawn, arrogant, cruel, sweet - but the film never judges them. It does not feel nostalgic about the age, nor does it belittle the leads. This may be because it’s not made by someone recalling their youth, but by someone living it. Filming began on Rob’s 18th birthday.
Verdict: brilliant
[* possible exception in Gregg Araki’s masterpiece Mysterious Skin - or perhaps The Breakfast Club, though the intersection with the “adult world” presented in that film is less of an issue here.]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyd1bo1TxB1qbx8y0o1_500.jpg)
365 Films in 2012
24. Strings (dir. Rob Savage, UK, 2012 [unreleased])
A small group of teens (Philene Lembeck, Hannah Wilder, Oliver Malam and Si Akbar Ali) face problems of intimacy and fear of the future.
So I can’t really give a completely clear, objective view of Strings; Rob and I have been friends for nearly 4 years now, and I played a part in the production of the film. I read the script, when it was written as a short film; I read the first feature-length draft; I was on set a lot during the shoot, and again during re-shoots. I even acted in it in a minor role, but since the 50 hours of footage have been cut down to a mere 85 minutes, my lines have all gone. This was the first time Rob screened the film for the cast and crew, and it was not entirely finished. Some of the audio needs tightening with the ADR recorded earlier this week, and it is still waiting on Johnny Clyde’s score.
What I can comment on is Rob’s beautiful cinematography. His editing is fantastic. The actors are all wonderful. I think a lot of people who see the film may not like it; it is very stylised and that will no doubt discourage some audiences. What the film has in bucketloads, and probably moreso than any other teen angst I’ve ever seen*, is empathy. The characters can be likeable or not, timid, withdrawn, arrogant, cruel, sweet - but the film never judges them. It does not feel nostalgic about the age, nor does it belittle the leads. This may be because it’s not made by someone recalling their youth, but by someone living it. Filming began on Rob’s 18th birthday.
Verdict: brilliant
[* possible exception in Gregg Araki’s masterpiece Mysterious Skin - or perhaps The Breakfast Club, though the intersection with the “adult world” presented in that film is less of an issue here.]
(via johnnyclyde)
