The Party’s Over

The Party’s Over is an unusual short film which speculatively depicts the Academy Awards dressing-room interaction between two legends of the silver screen, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Directed effectively by Skyler Sulby and written, interestingly enough, by its two stars Jessica Ann Brydon and Leah Freilich – this intimate, 7-minute drama is well-photographed, well-performed and satisfyingly structured.

Despite the fact that it’s based on the identities of two of the most famous screen-presences in history, the conceit and overall story structure feels most original. What it is confronting through the characters is the idea of walking away from your career. Kelly famously stops acting once she marries the prince of Monaco. It makes for a deeply moving passage of dialogue as she begins to confront how little choice she’s had in the evolution her life is taking; there’s a lot of nuance to how much she either does or doesn’t want to address about her own personal feelings. And Audrey talks about walking away for now, and the viewer is left to infer a lot from what’s left unsaid.

If there’s one odd effect the film has on the viewer, it’s the following. By stating that the two people you’re watching are Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly and then casting people who do look very much like them, you can’t help but then examine their faces and think of all the things that are different about their looks and behaviours. This isn’t really a complaint, but an inevitable aspect of any biopic-adjacent film. It’s almost like a very successful acting exercise, filmed fittingly.

Speaking of which, the cinematography of this film is incredibly impressive. It adopts of high-contrast, soft focus, black and white style to tell its story – and all these elements also contribute to the sense that we’re observing an old, treasured photography (which, in fact, is the very inspiration for the film, as displayed before the end credits). On a technical level, perhaps the greatest accomplishment is the first shot: a quick push in through a living room as the camera dollies towards a television set introducing the Oscars. I’m not certain how the lighting and tracking was achieved all so perfectly, but it’s a sensational way of introducing the concept of the film.

I would actually love to see these writers and performers make a film about themselves as actresses in the current film landscape, and I’d say that’s a good sign. Because even removed from the outside context of Hepburn, Kelly and the trajectory of their careers, our screenwriters manage to hit on some universal themes – such as uncertainty for the future, questioning of one’s legacy, and trying to find hope and freedom within the confines of the life you’ve found yourself in the middle of. These are ideas and emotions worth exploring in a longer form.

I couldn’t have predicted that a short film would choose to depict such an interaction – it almost seems off-limits in some uncanny way. And yet the fact that these talented filmmakers pull it off is testament to the craft behind the work.