"Send" is an American English-language live action short film from 2014 and this one was written and directed by Peter Vack. He is mostly a really prolific actor and in terms of him being the man in charge not just behind the camera, but also in charge of the screenplay, this was really new territory for him, even if it is not his first writing credit, but almost. The film runs for slightly under 9 minutes and I think the outcome was pretty good and we don#t even have to excuse Vack here because of his lack of experience, but from any perspective this award-winning short film is a success. The cast, at least the two protagonists (if you can call the guy even that), are pretty experienced, especially for their ages and it shows here. Julia Garner does a really good job carrying this film from beginning to end, which may not be too long as it is single figures, but still. Her male co-lead, who is by the way the son of Bobby Cannavale and has also already acted together with his dad, does not have too much to work with, but he is alright. But at the center of it all there is really the key idea that makes me think quite a bit. The moment you share something on social media and it is out there for everybody to see it is basically just like you standing at a theater in front of a gigantic crowd (and you don't know who films it for all time to exist) and performing your show sort of. Very interesting parallel I'd say and this did not only feel for the sake of it (even if it is at the center of the film and story), but it is included nicely as part of a somewhat tragic romance story between a young girl and guy. We see them have sex right at the start and then find out that they will have to split up for a while because of the geographic distance between them. She loves him and keeps texting him if he misses her, but he quickly doesn't respond anymore. Instead he keeps posting about his tennis matches and also about relatively explicit stuff like another girl performing sexual acts on him. I am not sure if the fact that we only see it very briefly means that the social media website took it down or if he just posted something that would imply what happened and not what it as really like. But I thought it was very smart and I liked it. Until then. Had the film kept this level until the very end or maybe even gotten a bit better, I would have given it an even higher rating and considered it one of the very best short films from 2014, but at the ending with the shower bar scene that also is depicted here on imdb and with the many people using social media the film tried to be a bit too much and maybe got too artsy in a modern way you could say and that I did not like. I am sure you can find valid ways to interpret said shower scene, for example that she hides her most private self from everybody who is watching unlike her (ex-)boyfriend, but it all feels a bit grasping at straws to make some sense. So overall I guess it is merely a good and not a great film. I do give it a thumbs-up though and I think it is an especially good and purposeful watch for younger audiences who are simply incapable of putting their mobile phones away. If they are open to criticism, that is. Thumbs up.
2 Reviews
Familiar cautionary tale but with clever delivery device
bob the moo18 August 2015
A teenage boy and girl are separated over the summer break, leaving the girl only communicating via the internet.
A story about the very public nature of the internet, and a cautionary tale to young teens, that trust the other end of that picture message to keep it as private as it was intended – all very familiar perhaps, and done many times in other places. With some topics just being done a lot it is hard to make any specific short stand out, and so credit to Vack for doing something a bit different in his delivery to add that extra level to make his film stand out from the pack. By mixing in a performance element, the film reminds us that all of this is literally playing out on a stage – and in the film we see that as posts and chats are "performed" on the stage in front of a mostly disinterested audience.
It is a risky device in some ways, and I am not sure it entirely works or entirely avoids feeling familiar, but it mostly does the trick. The message is familiar, but this device at least feels a fresh way of showing the public nature of the communication, and it is contrasted well with the reality (the privacy of the bedroom and one-to-one feel of the communication). Garner performs this well, with an innocence which supports the film, while Cannavale (son of Bobby) is typically confident and brash in his performance, as young men so often are when behind a keyboard (source: was once a young man).
It may not totally shake off the fact that the content is familiar, but the fresh delivery device adds to the material, makes the film more engaging, and makes for a stronger film.
A story about the very public nature of the internet, and a cautionary tale to young teens, that trust the other end of that picture message to keep it as private as it was intended – all very familiar perhaps, and done many times in other places. With some topics just being done a lot it is hard to make any specific short stand out, and so credit to Vack for doing something a bit different in his delivery to add that extra level to make his film stand out from the pack. By mixing in a performance element, the film reminds us that all of this is literally playing out on a stage – and in the film we see that as posts and chats are "performed" on the stage in front of a mostly disinterested audience.
It is a risky device in some ways, and I am not sure it entirely works or entirely avoids feeling familiar, but it mostly does the trick. The message is familiar, but this device at least feels a fresh way of showing the public nature of the communication, and it is contrasted well with the reality (the privacy of the bedroom and one-to-one feel of the communication). Garner performs this well, with an innocence which supports the film, while Cannavale (son of Bobby) is typically confident and brash in his performance, as young men so often are when behind a keyboard (source: was once a young man).
It may not totally shake off the fact that the content is familiar, but the fresh delivery device adds to the material, makes the film more engaging, and makes for a stronger film.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
