The first five minutes of this film are excellent. An eerie mysteriousness surrounds an unidentified man who stands in front of his dimly lit bathroom mirror. The sound is extremely clear, and as this figure begins his process of shaving, the click of the razor and the echo of water drops resonate. But, the oddness quickly fades, and the rest of the short film feels like a bad rock video left over from a glam- metal band whose lead singer used to get full page spreads in teen magazines during the 80’s. There’s certainly an interesting premise for a short film here, as the man can’t shave (be at peace with himself) as long as a woman he’s been seeing has control over his mind. In the end, any true realization or confrontation is lost in a fleeting attempt at cleverness. Too bad, because for a moment, I thought these two had tapped into something along the lines of Scorcece’s old student films.
