Through the Wide Gate

From the start this film leaves you with a whose done it taste in your mouth the 15 minutes don't give it justice. Bravo to everyone who was on board with this, to the soundtrack to the actors to the camera crew and director. I hope you get the funds to complete this. One of the best short films I've seen.

I loved every second of this 1970s throwback. It reminded me of the gems you'd find broadcast as the NBC Movie of the Week. The acting was fine, the atmosphere was effective and the music was much better than most found in short independent films. Several reviewers have suggested an expanded feature adaptation - I second that.

In full disclosure, I received a screener copy of the film from the director. When it arrived via U.S. Mail as a VHS clamshell complete with $1.00 Rental Sticker and a bonus audio cassette (that looked just like the RCA titles I used to see at Tower Records) I was skeptical. So much authenticity usually creates a hype that isn't often achieved.

I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised, and I look forward to more from this creative team.

I will start off saying, that for such a short film it definitely left you with wanting more. For only about 15 minutes in length, it didn't give much time for character development. For what little time there was, a lot of the film was left to the imagination. A fill in the blank kind of experience. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing here, as it is a short film. But there are so many unanswered questions.

It appears that young Mary is struggling spiritually and wrestling with inner demons of her own. "Narrow is the gate".

Marys overbearing-controlling Mother isn't helping the situation any. Although, we only see a couple of brief moments of interaction, we see enough to lead us to that conclusion and know she is part of the problem. This needs to be developed further.

Who is Beatrice? Where did she really come from? What are her true intentions, if any? Could Beatrice really be an alter personality of Mary? Definitely endless possibilities here.

The Father Gary character was an odd one. I was left wondering, was this actually how the Gary character was intended or was this Marys twisted view of Gary in her own head that we are seeing? I'm leaning towards her own disturbed delusions of Gary.

Which brings us to the big question. Did she actually commit murder or not?

There is a lot of potential here to build on and turn this short movie into a full length feature film. I would be very interested in viewing the full feature and getting more insight into all the characters and a deeper storyline. Some really good ingredients here, just need to complete the recipe full circle!

Hopefully one day we will get to find out if Mary actually crossed Through The Wide Gate.

In the age of throwbacks, this short film exceeds the rather middle of the way bar that other self proclaimed fanboys have set with full length features. The writer/director, Patrick Clement, has done more in 15 minutes than most can do with a fully fleshed out script. The acting was surprisingly good, as was the score. The film left me wanting more and didn't meander into the realm of overstaying it's welcome. This film is a synth-laced hymn praising the undertones of Carrie with it's feet toeing the atmosphere of Lucky McKee's film, May. A real treat for fans of the ambiguous and dreamlike nature of a visionary's passion project.

Kudos to all involved.

From the soundtrack to the acting, amazing! I enjoyed this one and I really do hope you get the funds to complete this movie. One of the best short films I've seen in a long time.