Raving

This is an historically interesting short-- it might be the very worst short ever made. Julia Styles should be quite angry with her manager and/or agent for not stopping her from doing this piece of monkey feces.

She should also thank her celebrity for getting this piece of garbage noticed. I think she was on Regis and Kelly this morning hawking it. She explained that the work was based on an experience she had walking around New York City, where someone came up to her crying asking for money to get home. (She, not being very smart, believed this classic con, and gave the girl a bunch of cash.-- wow.) That's essentially the story for this short. I would tell you the rest but I would fall asleep doing so, or I might become injured mentally, in recapping how poor the acting, writing and directing is in this piece.

Raving (2007)

*** (out of 4)

A troubled young woman (Zooey Deschanel) and a lonely middle-aged man (Bill Irwin) meets in a cafe and soon their secrets start to come out. The story is a little hit and miss here but Stiles shows some nice directorial touches and the two actors come across very well. It's never quite clear what issues are going on until the very end and even then it doesn't come over as any big shock but the acting keeps this short moving well. Stiles does a good job building up the two characters but a tighter screenplay would have helped.

I can't believe the reviews I've read. As far as character development, it needs nothing more. The 23 minutes of film was sufficient to understand the lifestyles of each main character.

Zooey exemplified confidence, greed, understanding, as well as compassion. I think that is kind of difficult to depict , in the magnitude she did, in a short amount of time. For Mr. Noodle, he was confusing at first, but his character is where the title comes in to play.

Despite the age difference their chemistry was great. I wish we were able to see another 60 minutes of this fine direction.

I'm well aware that a short film gives little room for character development, but the key to a GREAT short film is when the director and writer develop the plot and characters fully in their limited time span. The same is true for short fiction. It takes someone truly talented to do this correctly. Julia Stiles has not. The audience is given no valid reason why they should care about either of the two main characters, who each have their share of issues. There is no logical progression in their relationship. Basically, it was a very frustrating 20 minutes.

I found Zooey Deschanel to be charming and she did well with her material. Bill Irwin's character is obviously meant to be played as a walking shell of a man, but his acting fell flat and was unconvincing.

All in all, this was a failed attempt at something that could have been a compelling portrait of a young New Yorker, a down-and-out business man, and the city they lived in. Instead, we're given a film that feels as if it was done on a whim with no care put into who these characters are.

I viewed this film and then read the comments. I was surprised by the bad comments. I thought(as an ordinary film viewer)that it was an enjoyable short film. I enjoyed the acting - which was absolutely not as bad as the other reviewers thought. I think Zooey Deschanel has a great future as an actor with the right film. Bill Irwin is an accomplished actor. This part may not have been the right one for him.

I would think that developing two characters in less than twenty minutes is at most impossible. This film is simply a slice of life--and I believe it accomplished that task. Having worked in New York City for seven years early in my business career helped my appreciation of this slice of life.