The Nightmare Of My Choice focuses on a man of great mystery, Alan Ball (Ross Forder). In his world of risk and deception, Alan finds himself in a place of comfortability after the passing of a loved one. As Alan treks through life, leading and misleading those around him, a familiar face rises from the ashes of his troubled past. Now he faces new levels of difficulty and despair as his way of life is threatened by an equally mysterious enemy, Cosgrove (Stephen Murray).
Alan and his associates, Flukes (Stephen Cromwell) and Michelle (Lena-Marie Fitzgerald), find themselves suffocated by his past, with little wiggle room. Confusion, distrust, and death are the treacherous waters that these characters must traverse as writers and directors, Matthew J. Keats and Van Poynton, lead their audiences down an ever-winding nightmare.
With The Nightmare Of My Choice, Matthew J. Keats and Van Poynton transport viewers to a world of deception and personal terror, and with the help of Ross Forder, guide us through a deliberately fractured story of paranoia and passion. Forder is suave and eloquent and, even in the darkest of moments, there is something quite endearing about his performance. His ability to play a character whose ideas are contrasting with each other draws the audience in and forces them to believe every word he said. Even with Forder’s impeccable talent, Keats and Poynton’s greatest tool is, in fact, themselves. Keats’ ability to catch every nuance of Forder’s face says more about the character than even Forder himself is capable of.
“…he faces new levels of difficulty and despair as his way of life is threatened by an equally mysterious enemy…”
Moreover, Poynton perfectly uses lighting to depict not only the overall tone of the film at any particular moment but the moods of individual characters. Keats, Poynton, and Forder were a match made in heaven; the expressive use of extreme close-ups to express emotion and the impressively evocative lighting, paired with Forder and his immaculate acting ability, allow this comedic crime-thriller to succeed. As a result of their collaborative prosperity, Keats and Poynton’s film is full of youth, spirit, and vivid expression.
The impeccable use of light, coupled with such a compelling story, is enough to draw in any audience. The nearly perfect delivery by Ross Forder helps deliver a spine-chilling tale of love, loss, and the fight to survive. The depth of each element used made me yearn for the next big moment, the next big reveal. I was on the edge of my seat and incapable of looking away as Alan navigated the rocky terrain of his crumbling reality.
I was immensely impressed with the honest emotions Keats and Poynton were able to mine in The Nightmare Of My Choice and truly believe that they have only scratched the surface of their filmmaking capabilities.
"…full of youth, spirit and vivid expression…"
