Another Please is an interesting short film by filmmaker Jonathan Hardy that investigates chaos theory and loops and repeated patterns, all within the familiar confines of a bar. As a routine, bartender Rachel (Mary Rose Luksha) serves drinks to a professor (Robert Perchant) who is easily goaded into showing examples of how he can predict future events by introducing a single variable into the seeming chaos surrounding the patrons and their behavior. The real loop at play, however, winds up being far more revealing of not just possible futures, but the past routines too.
Or so I think. Honestly, when you’re discussing something that dips playfully into chaos theory, behavior loops, repeated patterns and the like, it can be easy to lose the audience and if the filmmaker is reading the above and thinking, “what flick did he see; that’s not what this is about at all” then, well, you understand the difficulty of interpreting events. That said, whether I “got” it or not, I did enjoy it.
The film’s look is particularly dark and shadowy, but it also takes place at a bar so the lighting makes sense. Sometimes it feels like there is a bit too much negative space about the composition (the bar will suddenly seem less full than perhaps it should be looking), but for the most part imagery is composed well.
Had Another Please just been a bit of casual chaos theory jabber with no real substance, I probably wouldn’t have responded as positively as I did. There is a tragic heart and soul to this short film, however, and once you realize how many repeated loops are at play, the narrative becomes that much more elevated.
This film was submitted for review through our Submission for Review system. If you have a film you’d like us to see, and we aren’t already looking into it on our own, you too can utilize this service.
