This film is visually beautiful with little hints and touches that suggest a bygone era of movie making, while being clearly part of the twenty-first century. Quite a lot is packed into the film's running time, with enough threads left over for the director to take it to a full length feature if he wishes. And that is where it does lose a couple of points for me. There is a trick to shorts, creating instant intimacy to pull the viewer in and hold their attention from the get go. This is less instantly intimate, suggesting that the script may well have actually evolved from a feature length one. There is some nice conflict set up, some very nice one liners, and some surprisingly deft comic timing in the by-play between the 'Director' (Rudolf Martin) and the 'Producer' (Scott MacArthur). I would have liked to have seen just a touch more 'benevolent monster' from Mr Martin and a hint more 'self-serving slime' from Mr MacArthur, but still good performances all round. Certainly intriguing enough, with hints of a tighter full length script, this could be one to watch for the future.
2 Reviews
Worth your time.
dawnbertollini5 September 2011
In the case of a good short film, the audience wonders what happens next. This is the case with "The Stand-In." Ricky Lloyd George does a lot with very little. He gets some great performances out of the actors and builds a short film that is worth a few minutes of your time. The dialogue and pacing are first-rate. I would enjoy seeing this as a full length film. (Mix in some inventive action scenes, and you have a crowd-pleasing popcorn movie with intellectual aspirations.) Rudolf Martin in particular gives the film some essential grounding, and a fine performance in the bargain. An enterprise of high quality. Highly recommended.
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