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Written & Directed by Philip Iyegbe
Starring Philip Iyegbe, Tori Hargreaves, Yinka Awoni, Jenai Anderson, Stephanie Bailey-Wright, Aidan Creegan, Vinta Morgan, & Edie Newman
Short Film Review By Chris Olson
Short thriller Collision Discourse is a highly stylised and potentially engrossing piece of filmmaking, but one that we are yet to view. We had the pleasure of reviewing a short version, coming in at just under 7 minutes, whereby writer, director and star Philip Iyegbe flexes his filmmaking muscles with some thrilling sequences, intriguing characterisation, and a startling premise.
Iyegbe plays Jason "Jay" Mansa, who opens the short with some compelling narration about being a scientist and only believing in logic and inevitability. What transpires is a smorgasbord of scenes between Jay and various female characters and some violent criminals that gives you an indication that Jay is mixed up in a complex world, where his smarts might not be enough to get him out alive. This then culminates in a dramatic conclusion that will logically and inevitably leave audiences gagging for more.
If we take Collision Discourse as a short film, it fails some very fundamental storytelling elements straight away. The plot is under cooked, the characters are shallow and wooden, and there is nothing to grapple with other than surface details and "shiny" sequences. However, when taken as a rather long movie trailer, the form then very much fits the function. There are engaging moments of interaction between the characters, there seems to be a degree of finesse in terms of cinematography and camerawork, and the the final plot point could be a brilliant start to a wonderful science fiction film.
It cannot be ignored however, that Collision Discourse shows some pretty revealing flaws already. The sound editing was hapless and uneven, letting the amateurish quality seep in very early which is never a good indication, and the delivery by some of the performers felt quite wooden and hackneyed. Whilst the feature length could end up by a really fascinating science fiction film, it could just as easily result in another cliched crime caper that feeds off the dregs of Guy Ritchie outings and so many television shows.
Impossible to recommend at this stage, audiences will need to remain poised and cross-fingered until a fully fleshed version of Collision Discourse is released that fully realises the potential which is definitely there.
Watch the official, extended movie trailer for the film below...
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