Michael Solace

Michael Solace is a new dark-comedy about a neurotic screenwriter in Hollywood who fears, more than anything else, that he’s selling out. We’re introduced to the hero of our story in a restaurant, awaiting a meeting with a studio agent of some kind who is about to offer Michael an artistically and ethically conflicting deal for a script of his. What is then expressed is a Kafkaesque journey of guilt and paranoia as he traverses through various locations, encountering externalised expressions of violence, belittlement and self-hatred. A dynamic directorial approach makes this a refreshingly energetic and stylistically concise movie. I’m certain that this film will find an enthusiastic audience with those embarking on a spiritually damaging journey in the entertainment industry – and I mean that as a compliment!

The three obvious inspirations for this film are Adaptation (for clear reasons), Eyes Wide Shut (for one scene) and (the most effective aesthetic parody) Barton Fink. These are strong works to steal from. In the case of the first two examples, their influence can be found in isolated images or lines of dialogue; but the Fink of it all goes even deeper. You could view our protagonist almost as a modern-day reincarnation of the terrified, self-important, eternally desperate Barton Fink persona perfected by John Turturro and the Coens in the 90s – same spectacles, outfit and scenario etc. And because we’re all so familiar with this image of the tortured artist existing in a world which is out of his control, it allows the filmmaker here to explore an experiment with the expectations of that image.

This is a movie about the existential terror that comes with compromising one’s vision; the damage caused to creativity when it collides with corporate interest. It’s also amusing, and prescient, to see Hollywood depicted as a cult of illicit activity, with this script its success contributing to a corrupt system. One criticism a viewer could make is that the film is more than explicit about these things. Michael Solace hits you over the head with allegory and metaphor until it stops becoming those things (by its own choosing). Yet that is the exact kind of maximalist sensibility the filmmakers have consciously opted for. Have all these things been depicted before in movies? Yes. Does it make them any less valuable? No. This is a fresh take from real artists who are lending their perspective on a classic conundrum.

But beyond all of these topics, ideas and iconographic references is something even more valuable: a tone, a style and a sense of humour which is completely formed and completely entertaining. There’s so much to love about the visual flourishes and rapid editorial language of this short. Most every shot feels specific for its composition, and the same can be said of the montage for its purposeful and rhythmic nature. There’s a strong use of whip-panning and cutting on motion which maintains the energy, keeps the story moving and holds us in the mind – in the self-loathing guilt-trip – of our hero. Unlike the situation this unfortunate soul finds himself in, it does not feel like any creative compromises were made in the production of this exceptional film!