Compulsion - Short Film Review

This was a short film that impressed me. It's message is one that is unapologetically in your face, but also slightly subtle, and it works for me. 

The film begins with a very cinematic portrayal of waking up from a deep sleep. Falling off the bed and slamming your palms on the alarm clock to shut it off. But then, the film starts to resemble reality more as a god's eye view shot follows the young man through his room and into his washroom. 

The editing in the beginning felt a little off, but as the scene went on, its purpose made sense to me. It cuts as he does task after task, while his eyes were glued onto the phone. The editing works because, in his mind, his focus is so much on the phone, that he simply edits out the little moments of brushing one's teeth and washing your hands with soap. It's subjective filmmaking. 

He then realises that he's late in a quick shot where the camera races towards the alarm clock to show intensity. The film then cuts to a more digital approach where we see footage from a supposed meeting and it just works. 

But then it shows him glued to his phone, and realising that the meeting is over. It's a simple yet effective way to showcase his disinterest in what's being taught, plus it spoke to me on a personal level. 

Now there's a shot where some stock footage is played and then we see the boy on his phone in them middle of the night, to show how disconnected he is from the outside world. Only issue is, the use of stock footage such as a 3D model of the brain becomes too over the top, even for the tone of this movie. 

But then enters the shot that impressed me the most. The film goes from a normal speed, to feeling like a time lapse as he moves from one place to another, with his face lit by different colourful lights. It isn't perfect, but it perfectly portrays what it's trying to say. About how, when digitally engaged, time seems to fly by instantly without it affecting us at the slightest. Even the music supports the neon lights in the scene.

After waking up the next day, there's a solid split shot of the boy's mother asking her son as to what he's doing for he's failing in his classes. By this point, the film has given in to it's exaggerated reality. It works for me because it clearly goes into this tone instead of it feeling unnatural. 

The boy throws his books down, and the camera movement I found interesting as the camera falls down with the books, really making us feel the weight of it falling. The camera work throughout the entire movie is interesting. It glides slowly setting up the geography of his room. 

In the final scene, he walks out, into the real world surrounded by greenery. And after a long pause, he throws his phone. It's over the top, sure, but since the director has set up the type of reality of this story, I found it entertaining but never unusual. 

Even the final shot is executed in a very cinematic way with the phone lying in the foreground and the boy walking off in the background. 

Compulsion is a short film that has a message, and isn't subtle many times. But it gets it's point across successfully, and has solid filmmaking within the limitations that add to the immersion of the experience. 

We should be supporting budding creators like these, so that they can improve their craft and be filmmakers we might cheer for one day. 

Thank Your for Reading

I hope you liked this blog review, please make sure to comment about your thoughts on the film, or on how I could possibly improve. Also follow my YouTube Channel "Detox with P-Talks Official" where I analyse movies and do other movie related content along with short films, etc.

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