WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
As time passes, does closeness fade? Are we bound to discover that everything once filled with passion, energy, determination, and heartfelt commitment dwindles to nothingness right in front of us? Watching, helpless, as the fondness ebbs and washes away like the tide? It is what appears to be a standard morning breakfast for a husband (Ric Law) and wife (Pippa Winslow). Yet, within her initial query as to whether he is awake and about, there is a heavy sense of hesitation and unease permeating the small kitchen. Upon finally sitting down side by side at their humble table, conversation ensues.
Initially, it comes across as innocently mundane, consisting of everyday things and everyday subjects. Ranging from the quality of the breakfast meal prepared, to random thoughts about what he considers doing for the day prior to an pre-planned engagement with friends, to her uncertainty about what really lies behind their respective utterances and responses. As the tenseness and tone of their words begins to increase in subtle but tangible frustration, it is more and more apparent that, sadly, all is not well in this quiet little home.
Next, my Mind:
With an affecting poignancy and understated atmosphere firmly established in only seven short minutes, Surrey, U.K. writer/director/co-executive producer/composer Joseph Johnson achieves a surprising level of emotional engagement with his debut effort, proving once again that much can be conveyed in very abbreviated order. Filmed with a simple one-setting format, purposefully sparse but effective musical score, and focus entirely centered on the demeanor of two characters navigating a slowly deteriorating situation that heralds much larger ramifications, it is a potent visual exploration of the deconstruction of intimacy, desire, caring, and commitment between two people rich in former romance.
With it being absolutely necessary in order to carry the narrative forward and create the impact intended, actors Ric Law and Pippa Winslow provide excellent, emotive performances as the husband and wife. Law’s husband is a study in tired, worn down, beleaguered existence as he so plaintively stares into space while attempting to listen to the questions and statements of a woman he’s lost warmth towards. More preoccupied with how to get time away from her without actually stating it, it’s heartbreaking to witness. On the opposite, yet not so far apart, end of things is Winslow’s wife, whose pleasant and unfrazzled aura becomes continually more and more agitated despite her best efforts to stay composed. Knowing there is something dreadfully “off” and not wanting to face it, yet forced to anyway, is likewise sorrowful.
The two together simply play off of each other so well, that as a viewer, you sense the impending outcome that all the circumstances presented foreshadow. By the finale, the feeling of overwhelming sympathy for the couple is present full bore. In total, “Something Blue” stands as a fantastic example of totally a purposeful, character-driven drama, executed with precision, and succeeding in drawing the viewer into the volatile inner workings of the pain, subtle or otherwise, experienced when love goes awry.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
