In Passing

I don’t know how much of a handicap I ought to give amateurs. This is thoroughly amateur filmmaking by amateurs all around, of the caliber perhaps of an undergraduate thesis project. I hate to be unfair, and I’d like to encourage raw talent, but I’m inclined to say no handicap is warranted at all: sensitive, simple filmmaking can be done on a slim budget; untrained actors can deliver charmingly awkward performances; any writer with skill can produce quality work at almost zero expense. So no points simply for greenness here: despite its limitations, it had every chance to be quite good. This is full of Editing 101 dissolves and freeze frames, painfully bad performances, and schlocky writing that wouldn’t earn anyone a spot on the writing staff of an American soap opera. This is the story of a relationship as it develops from the first date to its end. I use the word “develops” generously, because that is exactly what is missing: any character building whatsoever, any believable or interesting story at all. It is straightforward and phony, moving unceremoniously from point A to point B: first kiss, they move in together, suddenly a year has passed, artificial problems develop, more years pass… Unbelievably poor dialogue: the average writer on fanfiction.net has one up on this crew. It’s with great sadness I must report it is devoid of any cinematic interest, and satisfies on no level whatsoever. It is, at least, likable from start to finish. Inanely, artificially likable.