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The Search short film review

★★★

Directed by: Jake Gleason, Neil George

Written by: Jake Gleason

Starring: Jake Gleason

 
The Search Movie Poster showing actor Jake Gleason
The Search Movie Poster

Guy Herbert is on a mission to find something. Is he looking for the love of his life? No. Is he looking for lost keys? No. He is in search of something very important: weed in order to get high.


The Search begins with news footage covering the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (also known as Proposition 64), which was a 2016 voter initiative that legalized cannabis in California. The film then cuts to 2003, where Guy (Gleason) is sitting at his kitchen table writing but he is distracted when he sees his water pipe. He abandons writing and proceeds to phone acquaintances, hoping that they can provide him with precious drugs.


Herbert is very entertaining in his portrayal of a likeable guy, who would very much like to score. At first he is calm, but as he makes one call after the other, he becomes more and more desperate and agitated, giving the impression that getting high is the only thing that matters in his life. Poor man.


The film makes interesting use of the jump cut editing technique. As Guy is on the phone, for a certain period of time, the film shows him speaking to someone, asking if they have drugs and then repeatedly cuts to him asking another person and then another. With this technique, the audience can feel his frustration and how desperate he is to get his hands on some weed.


Generally this project is a satire on drug addiction. It humorously depicts how drugs can completely take control of one's life. Guy is having trouble finding any and in the future it will be widely available thanks to the legalization of marijuana. It shows that individuals like Guy are the reason why this drug has been accepted by the public for better or worse.


The Search is worth searching for. It offers an amusing perspective regarding how awkward people can be and the entertaining music adds good qualities to the experience.

 

1 Comment


Neil George
Aug 11, 2020

Here's the link to watch the short film https://youtu.be/rQf_OCaBt-s

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