RupertPupkin
10-01-2003, 09:42 AM
While I generally concur with Daniel Wible's excellent review of the independent short film, Birthday Call, I feel that I must take issue with a few of his comments.
To say that the actors "are no thespians" is, I think, a severe misjudgement of the subtle genius that they each brought to their respective roles. Chris, the brother who meets his untimely fate in the film's denouement, brings to mind a young Robert Duvall in "To Kill a Mockingbird." He plays it dead straight, despite the developing apocalypse which surrounds him, just like Duvall as Boo Radley. Chuck, the brother, who acts as the moral and spiritual compass of the film, resists the temptation to overplay, as perhaps a Steven Seagal "type" actor would have done in this particular role. They are perhaps the best "brother""acting team to appear together since Bill and Brian Doyle Murray.
The film is funny, yes. However, the reviewer seems to be missing the larger message here. This film gets at the deeper truths which affect our everyday lives. How many of us have neglected to call a friend or relative on their birthday, simply because we were "tired" or "too busy"? Even with a damnable plaque of zombies bearing down upon them, they find the time to call their good friend on his birthday.
I think what these filmmakers have done is show us a mirror of our own daily lives and how we live them. We all too often become wrapped up in our own problems. Zombies are but a simple metaphorical device in this brilliant short film. I look forward to their next effort.
To say that the actors "are no thespians" is, I think, a severe misjudgement of the subtle genius that they each brought to their respective roles. Chris, the brother who meets his untimely fate in the film's denouement, brings to mind a young Robert Duvall in "To Kill a Mockingbird." He plays it dead straight, despite the developing apocalypse which surrounds him, just like Duvall as Boo Radley. Chuck, the brother, who acts as the moral and spiritual compass of the film, resists the temptation to overplay, as perhaps a Steven Seagal "type" actor would have done in this particular role. They are perhaps the best "brother""acting team to appear together since Bill and Brian Doyle Murray.
The film is funny, yes. However, the reviewer seems to be missing the larger message here. This film gets at the deeper truths which affect our everyday lives. How many of us have neglected to call a friend or relative on their birthday, simply because we were "tired" or "too busy"? Even with a damnable plaque of zombies bearing down upon them, they find the time to call their good friend on his birthday.
I think what these filmmakers have done is show us a mirror of our own daily lives and how we live them. We all too often become wrapped up in our own problems. Zombies are but a simple metaphorical device in this brilliant short film. I look forward to their next effort.