Inheritance

I thought the filming of the movie was very interesting. It had a decent plot and an interesting twist. I think it's a unique independent movie. It was fun to watch people's reactions to them filming, they just filmed in the streets of Cairo and Mumbai (not a closed set). I felt like I was really there in the scenes with the character.

I also felt like the dialogue wasn't that bad. They had a decent script that wasn't cheesy.

It's a good movie to sit back and enjoy when you can't find anything else to watch. Also interesting to see Phoebe Dynevor in this type of action film. I think it's worth the watch.

I enjoyed how the camera was weld for this film. Other reviewers I've read seem displeased by the "held camcorder" style, however I found this attempt to be a different and fresh way to use it. For instance, the shots of how pedestrians looked at the main character as she's walking through the streets. It focused on how others perceive her rather than how she perceived her surroundings. Which for the India sequences was true to form. The men are known to gawk at American women and cat call them profusely. Also, never have I felt like an actual tourist to to the many different countries visited in the movie. The tone, pace, shots, extras, and all together vibe made me feel as if I was actually visiting the pyramids in Egypt, travels a train through India, and walked the streets of South Korea. I watch a lot of film and never have felt what it must be like to be a tourist in the locations the movie was at.

Conceptually I enjoyed that this film was shot on iPhones and I thought the cinematography was interesting for all that. I enjoyed some of the twists or smart decision making by our lead character Maya. My favorite part of the film was the tie in with the title at the end.

Now for what I didn't like...the majority of this film is watching Maya (Phoebe Dynevor) run around...which speaks to a lack of plot. What plot there was, was decent...but probably more suited to a short short or a film short.

The film begins with Maya's mother's passing from a long battle with an illness. Her absentee father, Sam (Rhys Ifans) shows up for the funeral and offers Maya, not her sister, a one time job with him in Cairo. It seems to be a no loose situation and might help her answer some questions she has about her dad...only Sam ends up taken almost within minutes of Maya's arrival in Cairo. He is being held hostage in order for Maya to retrieve something Sam has hidden to exchange for him. This leads her to India...and eventually to Korea, where pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

There are definitely some clever things in this film...but again it could have been told in a short with the rest of the running around unnecessary. Didn't quite make it on my recommendation list...unless you just want to see what can be done with an iPhone.

After her mother's funeral. Maya (Phoebe Dynevor) gets a chance to connect with her estranged father Sam (Rhys Ifans.)

He offers to take her to Egypt where he claims to work in real estate. Even asking Maya to get a job to entice people to launder money in property.

However Sam disappears and is later contacted by people who claim to have abducted him.

They want Maya to retrieve a hard disk from a safe deposit box in India.

It leads her to question just who her father is. He had a false passport, previously worked in espionage and Interpol are also after him.

Directed by Neil Burger on an Iphone. This is a guerilla thriller shot in Egypt, India and South Korea without permits. Some task in India as the cops like to have their backhanders even if you have all the proper paperwork.

Once the post production grading is done, the film looks quite good. Although it could be better lit.

The story is hackneyed. You sense Maya is being used by her father. The international locales add to the movie.

I'm surprised by the number of mediocre reviews for this film-I thought it was quite good. The central relationship between the father and daughter felt believable and emotionally genuine to me.

The film focuses primarily on these two characters, so those looking for nonstop action might find it slow. However, I appreciated the solid writing, acting, and storytelling. While it is a story that has been told before, it still felt fresh and engaging.

Interestingly, I didn't realize the entire film was shot on iPhones until I read about it afterward. The cinematography was engaging without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. In contrast to something like the Bourne series-which often overuses a shaky, pseudo-documentary style-this film employed a similar technique with far more subtlety and purpose.

Overall, this is a quiet, understated, but satisfying suspense thriller-sensitive in its themes and effective in its delivery.