Ruby and the Dragon (2013) User Reviews

Powerful and touching

[nm4701284 · 9/10 · 25 October 2013]

This film almost brought me to tears... and I'm a guy. So, ladies, prepare a tissue, or maybe a box. You'll need it. It's a powerful story which exposes a strong character locked in a little girl. I am sure it will move a large audiences.

The film is well put together and the story flows at a pace that keeps you front of the screen steering feelings in the viewer and reaching deep into the heart.

The cinematography is just beautiful. The simple black and white technique accentuates the story and fits perfectly the atmosphere of the situation. Everything was just beautiful and merged harmonically into the final cut: the framing, the camera movement, the angles. Beautiful.

Beautiful acting. Simple emotions are portrait by the actors in a connecting way making the audience feel for the characters and immerse in the story. I know it will be a moment when you'll find yourselves startling as you were there, right there.

Great ending that culminates the entire story like fireworks and then... peace.

Once again: Beautiful!

Short yet sweet.

[julie-maas35 · 9/10 · 27 December 2013]

The first thing to be said about Ruby and the Dragon is that it is beautifully shot. While the storyline might not be conventionally noir, the visual theme suggests otherwise. Filmed in black and white, Brooks' use of the shadows and light highlight the tragedies that will soon befalling the audience.

Leah Catherine Thompson's turn as Ruby is nothing short of impressive. Her innocence and naiveté almost make this downward spiral easier to watch. It's heartbreaking to see her "play" with her catatonic father like a giant doll but she makes it feel so normal. She makes it feel "ok."

It never gets better for the family. In fact it only gets worse but Ruby continues entertaining herself and her baby sister (even after she is gone) with the hand made puppet show. It was almost mesmerizing every time she put on a show like it was an intermission from the real world. It is the escape that she, and we, needed to get through her story. After all, she is a story teller.

Although it can clearly stand alone, I would love to see more about this family beyond the short. The tale is heartbreaking but you can't stop watching it.

So Powerful and Surprising

[sportsbros808 · 9/10 · 31 October 2013]

This was a very powerful short. And I can honestly say I did not see that ending coming at all.

The girl who played Ruby did an excellent job. It is refreshing to see child actors who don't go over the top with the Disney Channel-style overacting. I think she played it perfectly.

The Dad's comatose state was maddening and elicited so many questions from me, like "When is going to snap out of it?" and "Doesn't he see how he is hurting Ruby?" I had a real visceral response to his inaction and I'm sure that is what the filmmaker intended.

There are so many touching scenes in this film and the ending is so incredibly powerful and unexpected. I don't want to give too much away because this whole film should be experienced on your own terms.

Excellent!

[RobbyRobertson · 10/10 · 21 October 2013]

Could have easily won the 2013 LA Film Prize! A dark drama with excellent acting. I liked it being filmed in black and white. Wonderful job by young Lean Thompson. Shocking ending, which brought tears to both my wife and myself. Wife wanted it to win first place. Shows the simple mind of a child and how they can make all thing better in their little world. I agree in that I would have enjoyed an even longer version. Had I not had a film in the running, I would have wanted this one to win first place. Looking forward to next year's offering with great anticipation! Again, thank you for such a meaningful, thought-provoking film!

I just want it to be a little longer!

[JColeBrand · 9/10 · 21 October 2013]

Last year's entry was great, and this year's entry topped it (didn't see last year's entry? I suppose you should be following the Louisiana Film Prize shouldn't you? Time to go follow links for Mr Brooks!). Definitely worthy of a top-5 spot this year, and this film was up against some wonderful competition.

Can we start with the delightful performance from Leah? In this short we see Ruby's pain quite well, thanks to Leah. And yet she still made us smile while we felt the pain.

And Phillip contributes something nearly humorous in his portrayal of a catatonic father. He sticks to the role, almost as though it were written for him? ;-)

Overall, the story was very moving, touching and sad. There were a few points it would've been nice to have more backstory, but at that point we would've very quickly left the short film genre and entered something much longer.

I look forward to seeing this film in a few more festivals this year!

Could easily pave the way for feature funding

[CEBaum · 8/10 · 6 November 2013]

Louisiana-set Ruby and the Dragon tells the tragic tale of a young girl, Ruby, as she struggles with the death of her mother and her father's collapse into a silent state in this harrowing and wistful tale from Phillip Jordan Brooks.

Ruby lives in her own world as she uses shadow puppets and fairy stories to deal with life without her mother. But her life is about to get a whole lot more complicated when tragedy strikes once more.

Leah Catherine Thompson as the eponymous Ruby is something of a young Juliette Lewis at only eleven years old, with her old-soul eyes and husky delivery, perfect for the difficult emotional range required for the role. Supporting characters are pleasingly diverse, and all add texture in a succinct way that creates a narrative for a judgmental small-town mentality as the family tries to survive Ruby's mother's suicide.

Brooks gives an astounding performance as good as any actor in the A-list today as her father Oscar, to the point that I wonder if his character's name is a clue he should go headlong into a career in front of the camera instead of behind it, because performances are truly flawless here on both accounts.

Having said that, Brooks is a bit of a triple threat. Direction is tight, especially given he's directing as he's acting in nearly every scene, and the writing, if a little on point, is clean storytelling.

Personally, I didn't much care for the plot, which is basically one massive terrible event after the other culminating in a plot point that is startling in its conception, and which may lead some viewers to feel it goes a little too far. It would have been nice to see Ruby involve herself more deeply in her fairytale puppetry, which at times is far too fleeting. I don't think it would hurt to delve into this a little more and expand that world – there are minutes to be had here, as the film is only sixteen minutes long. Twenty maybe would be the charm. There's a great singing sequence as she cleans the house in the trailer that could have lent some light relief in the actual film.

Camera-work is excellent. The use of black and white instead of color is reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy lives out her staid and sad life in grays. But here, dolefully, Ruby never gets to escape to the color. Angle work is used to create perspective and opinion throughout, without milking the drama. Minimal and effective, the actors stand out from the framing, able to breathe life into the piece unfettered by any such go-to's so often employed in low-budget filmmaking.

But I do think going deep into sadness in a short lends an advantage. The viewer has only a quarter of an hour to be steeped in death and misery. Ruby and the Dragon is a poem to death, faith and the afterlife – but it could not be a feature (Philip Ridley's " The Reflecting Skin" did this for 96 minutes and I remember the audience audibly crying out for it to stop after about an hour). However, it does showcase Brooks' talents and could easily pave the way for feature funding for this name to look out for.

A dark and captivating fable

[mojopro · 10/10 · 2 November 2013]

From the first black and white frame, elegantly shot but slightly off-putting, I knew I was going to like this dramatic fable told through the eyes of a young girl. Young Lea Catherine Thompson has a uniquely captivating voice and eyes that are so big, that the camera is drawn to her. The cinematography is always good and sometimes excellent. Philip Jordan Brooks direction is solid - clearly someone who knows what he was going for, and delivers. Though the film has it's faults - a few flat performances from the supporting cast, a couple of lines of dialogue where the microphone wasn't placed properly, some moments where the black and white could have benefited from a little more paints of light - the overall effect works, and so I forgive them for these imperfections and just go with it. Ultimately the film works, and hits you hard when tragedy unfolds...so it gets a 10.

Good and Great!

[vannemic · 10/10 · 31 October 2013]

Came across this film and it looked interesting so I thought I would give it a watch. Within the first minute, it immediately draws your attention and makes you want to know the story. It is a very dark but powerful film and will take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. It is definitely a drama and some parts are hard to watch or even think of, but that is what makes it stand out. About half way though the movie, I realized that the underlying plot is that the daughter is taking care of the dad in ways that she would have taken care of her little sister. I would recommend seeing this. It is a very emotional film but it is also definitely work seeing.

A Captivating Journey through darkness

[katharyngrant · 15 July 2015]

To call this film disturbing would be an understatement, and yet it manages to remain simple and heartfelt, with a touch of gossamer wistfulness. In embracing a child's point of view, the audience is taken on a journey that is both beautiful and grotesque at the same time. By allowing us into young Ruby's experience, the filmmaker is able to show some deeply disturbing scenes with a candor and a guilelessness that might not be possible with an older character. So although we are viewing the unspeakable and the tragic, it all feels very "normal," because this character is still so innocent. The choice to go black and white gives this film an almost noir-like feel which enhances the over-all story telling. And the film's signature, for me, was it's unique use of the shadow puppets which Ruby plays with. These beautiful images give the film a specialness that makes you wish that the strange beauty of her child's mind could become a place we could return to again and again. These lovely images juxtaposed against a background of the starkest tragedy, creates a dissonance that will stay with you.