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★★★★
Directed by: #NamanGupta
Starring: #PaulArthaud, #JadeKilburn, #KentKoren, #GreysonLewis, #ThomasDWeaver, #LaraWolf
Lilly Riggs pays homage to both Scorsese and Tarantino in this rough and ready short film.
We follow the character ‘Blondie,’ a man desperately struggling to leave behind the gritty life of crime in order to reconnect with his daughter once again.
Directed by Naman Gupta, Lilly Riggs takes the audience through the dark and corrupt streets of the city in this neo noir crime thriller, seeing the forefront of this injustice through the warped eyes of a rugged crook.
The film begins with the deep and raspy voiceover from our main character, whilst lively rhythmic music plays in the background. The music throughout this film was certainly varied but worked really well with the overall tone of the film. There was a heavy correlation between this film and Pulp Fiction in terms of music. It was #QuentinTarantino who believed that songs truly portray the personality and spirit of a movie and opens the stage for the action to unfold. As you continue to watch Lilly Riggs, the music seemed to push the main character, Blondie, into a suave and savvy light, a fella with attitude and a lot of swagger creating a strong allure whenever he entered a scene.
There were some camera angles which were slightly amateurish and seemed out of place within the film. For example, there is a point where the camera circles the car as the two criminals wait patiently for their money. However, although clever and unique at first there came a time where it started to disorientate and become overplayed and that is something that #filmmakers should avoid as the audience can lose interest after a while. There were some mismatched editing techniques but ultimately it was presented extremely well, the jump cuts elevated this short and hit home to that Scorsese touch, likening the film with ‘Goodfellas.’ Jump cuts are a great way to infuse a short with energy as well as show the pressure life holds for a crime fuelled gangster.
Blondie’s accomplice Zero did not convey a totally believable character. His fear could have been classed as quite comical because it was so overblown which gave it a false appearance (of course I understand that it is acting so obviously nothing is real!) If there was a way to improve this, there should be the look of sheer panic crossing over the man’s face. There needs to be a level of insecurity from Zero, especially when in the presence of a menacing criminal and I could not see this. When you’re dealing with an unpredictable outlaw, of course there is going to be that submissive behaviour but also an element of dread and uncertainty should always be around as you can never truly anticipate their next move. This was the component which was lacking in Blondie’s accomplice.
However, a very refreshing short film that had a lot compacted into a short space of time but still managed to not miss a beat. If you’re a fan of dark and mysterious men with a strong desire for crime then this may be the film for you!
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