For those who don’t already know, I am Canadian so with that, I like to support Canadian films as much as I can. This film is a Canadian film which had it’s debut at The Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival, in Toronto, back in November and is now on a film festival circuit run. I encourage you to see the film if you have the chance.
Synopsis: When a misguided loner learns that a webcam girl lives in his building, he attempts to build a sincere relationship with both her onscreen and offscreen personas. This proves to be quite volatile, when their identities refuse to mix the way they do in his imagination. (streamerfilm.com)
Starring: Jared Bratt, Tanya Lee, and Brennan Pedde
Writers: Jared Bratt and Vincent Pun
Directors: Jared Bratt and Vincent Pun
Rating: n/a
Running Time: 78mins
Trailer:
It’s human nature to yearn for genuine human connection. Of course it’s only inevitable that there will be some that are better at this than others. Society values this type of connection and tends to put pressure on people to make such connections. In today’s world, technology is playing an increasing role in this quest. Whether it has been helpful or hurtful is debatable. This film looks into both of these as it follows a socially challenged man named Jared (Bratt) who develops a relationship with a webcam girl named Ivy (Lee).
Jared was a very lonely man who had never been in a real relationship for whatever reason to the point that it worried the rest of his family. He so desperately wanted what everyone else had and felt slighted by not having a real relationship himself. His chance for happiness finally came once he met Ivy. He quickly became fascinated with her to the point of obsession. Things change once he learns that Ivy also lives in his building. Now he got to see the person behind the screen but this person isn’t exactly the same, her real name isn’t Ivy (the film doesn’t seem to mention her real name).
Despite the different versions of this woman, Jared still found himself obsessed with both of these women, with each version bleeding into the other in his mind. Over time, his relationship with the real version grew as they became closer. The drama here was compelling to watch but it was more of a slow burn and perhaps loses a little steam by the end with the film’s relatively short running time of 78 minutes aggravating this. The slow burn may also be too slow for some considering the predictable result.
The acting was the best part of the film with Bratt and Lee both providing engaging performances as the leads. Bratt showed considerable range as the socially-challenged Jared, hitting emotional lows and highs while playing a broken man finding hope and then having it ripped away. Lee followed suit, in a dual role of sorts, playing both versions of this woman as two distinct people.
Overall, this was a captivating drama that approaches the social pressures of relationships in a realistic way. The slow burn of the drama may be too slow for some but features engaging enough performances to keep viewers entertained.
Score: 8/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
