Falling Overnight

The delicate subject matter of this film is beautifully rendered by writer/director Conrad Jackson. The serious theme is there but the overall tone is one of hope, and the beauty of life wins out over its unpredictability.

Jackson's cinematography enables us to feel the passage of time differently, and he takes us on a journey through a young man's (potentially) last night with simple events that exemplify how precious life is.

The two main actors are endearingly naive, but with depth and complexity beyond their years. Oh yeah, and apparently it was filmed in 14 days - impressive!

I look forward to seeing much more from these actors, from the writers, and from director Conrad Jackson!

I've seen the trailer a while ago and thought this might be a good movie. Didn't really expect anything super special, just something you consider watching whenever.

Yesterday I finally decided to watch the film, simply because I felt like watching a Drama. The first thing you hear is this song. I've never heard it before and I really liked it (Shaun Rust - On Your Side). When a movie starts off with a great song I just get excited about what's to come. Music in a movie is always really important to me, I did like all of them here. They were perfectly chosen. Then there's the story. Though it is a Drama, having parts where you're in tears, it does have some happy moments where you smile while watching it. When a film gets you to show emotions, in this case several ones, it's a huge compliment to it. The story is fantastic. The ending could have gone differently but I like when you have to think about how it's going on yourself. That also makes a movie fantastic, when it gets you to think about the rest.

This film is definitely a must see. I don't often tell friends you HAVE TO watch this and that movie but I will with this one. It's simple, yet amazing.

While I enjoyed the concept of the film, I found the lousy acting to be distracting. The dialogue seemed forced at times and very unnatural considering the circumstances. Also, not sure if I liked the ending, I would have liked to at least get a clue as to what may come in the future.

Cinematically, most (if not all) of the camera work was hand-held, even static shots were shaky – which could work in a more intense film, but this film was quite uneventful. And speaking of static, I thought all of the characters were very one-dimensional, and none seemed to show any signs of real growth.

I try to give all of the movies I see an honest, unbiased rating. For some reason I feel weird giving this a 9/10 rating, just because I didn't know what to expect going into it. I saw the trailer a few months ago and put it in my watch list for later. Today I saw it on Netflix and without any anticipation and on impulse just put it on. Along with an estimated $50,000 budget, Parker Croft and Emilia Zoryan are young, virtually unknown actors, which initially sparked my interest. I was excited to see some new talent and was interested in what was made out of the given budget. This is a story of young love. It is raw,awkward, emotional, funny, sad, tragic and most importantly realistic. Elliot (Croft) and Chloe (Zoryan) cross paths and connect instantly. Chloe is a photographer and invites Elliot to her art show that night, and from there a love story begins to unravel. From parties and shows to a small kick back in the hills and we meet different groups of interesting friends that are out partying and enjoying the night, all while Elliot and Chloe become closer and closer in a matter of hours. It really took a little bit for the characters to grow on me. Through the social awkwardness and little mishaps I finally begun to really like the characters. I took into account Elliot's condition and was very interested in how he would reveal this to Chloe. You learn about this in the beginning of the movie and as the story progresses the condition turns into an overbearing secret. I was anticipating the revelation of this secret to Chloe and I thought it was executed perfectly. This is a simple and realistic love story between two young lovers captured in a sort of cinéma vérité style in the glowing and active city of Los Angeles.

There are very few moments in life when you understand you've met the person you are supposed to be with, at least at that point of time. Director Conrad Jackson's take on the movie makes you feel like you are a part of such a moment. Both the lead actors portrait such naivete and at the same time great depth that it makes the story believable. The chance meeting, to the night they spend together, have been woven together so methodically that you never feel out of sync. You feel the pain, the anguish, their love, hope for a future, dreams and just understanding how precious life is in even its most mundane moments.

Watch the movie for a good story made excellent due to its direction and great acting.