Movie Review: Dark Romance (2013)

Dark Romance (2013) - USA - Dark Thriller - Not Rated (PG)

Independent Short Subject - 8mm Films - 8 Mins

Entrant in 48 Hour Film Project New York City 2013

Directed by Matthew Mahler

Written by Matthew Mahler & Ross Mahler

Starring Timothy J. Cox, Cameron Rankin, Tiffany Browne-Tavarez, Brian Shields

Early work by Matthew Mahler is a dark passage of obsession, even darkly comedic, showing the promise he has as a filmmaker.

Tim Cooper and Cam are modern day mad men developing ad campaigns for clients between their office cubicles and board room. But neither Tim nor Cam are truly the one who is mad as Tim becomes the recipient of a secret admirer's attentions, that start off innocently enough but soon turn dark and obsessive.

Dark Romance was made as part of the 48 Hour Film Project film festival in 2013, New York City location. This festival has filmmakers compete by being given 3 required elements their short film must contain and then having 48 hours to script, shoot, and edit their film. The required elements for this competition were: a character named Cam or Cat Dean who is an advertising executive, a prop of a trophy, and to include the line "when do you expect her?"

IMDb lists this as Matthew Mahler's first directed short film. I can only go on that as I don't know the extent of Mahler's work beyond what is listed on IMDb. There are obvious shortcomings with Dark Romance that are most likely because of what he had available equipment-wise. The sound has a constant hum early in the film, though this does not hamper the dialogue which is actually quite clear. Additionally the handheld camerawork is obvious in places, though most likely necessitated by the space in which they had to work. Though Mahler's creativity does shine through; creativity he will put to even greater use in his masterful To Be Alone, also starring Timothy J. Cox.

Technical issues aside, Dark Romance is well scripted telling a complete story; I make a point of this as in a 48 Hour Film Project a filmmaker has to go with what they have, complete or not. The cinematography makes good use of framing, focus, follow, and mood. The actors in this are excellent in their performances with Timothy J. Cox showing how well he can transition from the light to the dark in a role.

Originally I was leaning toward a rating of 3 Fingers to 3 Fingers Plus for Dark Romance. Writing this review reminds me to count what's most important in the film, that is how well done it is as a whole and not the limitations of what they had to work with. If anything, working with handheld equipment on a budget under $500 and in only 48 hours shows what they overcame to tell a complete story that hits its marks. My rating is therefore based on what they have accomplished in this film, and what they have accomplished is very good.

My Rating: 4 Fingers

You can watch Dark Romance on Vimeo and also check out Mahler's other work.

Movie Review: What Jack Built (2015)

What Jack Built (2015) - USA - Mystery Thriller - Not Rated (Family)

Independent Short Subject - 8mm Films - 11 Mins

Directed by Matthew Mahler

Written by Matthew Mahler and Ross Mahler

Starring Timothy J. Cox

Loud and proud in its score with a hint of pastiche to 80s future noir What Jack Built is an energetic ride with an obsessed driver at the wheel.

*Since the filmmakers don't have a movie poster for this film, I made one. Being the screencap I used belongs to the filmmakers and all I did was add the obvious text, as far as I'm concerned the poster image belongs to them to use as they wish.

Jack has an obsession, with something. He's a packrat with all sorts of goodies scattered about his workshop. Monitors here, keyboards and parts there ...electronics and paint cans and gizmos, oh my! It seems Jack has everything, yet one thing eludes him; and that one thing frightens him too. Jack has a plan to get that one thing, but he has to build something first.

Though this is the first review I am doing of a film starring Timothy J. Cox, I am no stranger to his work as an actor. If you are into indie film you will eventually come across the work of Timothy J. Cox, dubbed 'the hardest working actor in indie film'. I am no stranger to the work of Matthew Mahler either and frankly consider him one of the most artistic and promising directors today.

Cox and Mahler working together is certainly fitting as Mahler drives a narrative of sight and sound, devoid of dialogue. Cox is a wonderful actor and among his strengths is a talent with body language and expression. Mahler and Cox working together is a marriage made in filmmaking heaven

Matthew Mahler has scored this film himself with vibes that hint at 80s sci-fi movies, to me, but is its own original composition. Timothy J. Cox has fun with this role both with spot on moments, and moments of chewing the scenery; and that's talented when you can chew the scenery without uttering a word.

Mahler's composition of scenes is contained. By this I mean his scenes are full and rich, but he does not let that distract from his focus. With Cox's performance, this additionally keeps the focus as it would be hard to not keep your eyes on Cox. I do feel that the story is a bit ambiguous, for me, but some do like that ambiguity of filling in blanks for themselves, and certainly if that's you, you can have a lot of fun with this one.

The music in this is four times louder than it needs to be. Leaving my media player settings at normal and putting on my headphones results in what I call screaming critic syndrome. The volume is not bad if you're using speakers because you can be assured to have room filling sound. But this is a word of caution to those who also might use headphones.

My Rating: 4 Fingers

You can watch What Jack Built and other of Matthew Mahler's work on Vimeo

For more on Timothy J. Cox visit his Official Website