Split Lip

When I started watching this movie I was heavily engaged at first. Premise seemed very similiar to like a John Wick 3 and the visuals were absolutely stunning. The acting I thought was also good especially for a bunch of no name actors. Hence the reason for the four stars at least.

But the major issue with this movie comes down to bad/little dialogue, weird action scenes, and massive plot holes. It also was just extremely draggy in my opinion. I don't know if all this was due to lack of budget or poor direction by the director. But its shame because I really was rooting for this movie.

First of all, I really enjoyed this movie. I was engaged the whole time and it felt like the right length for the story it was trying to tell.

The strongest part about it was the excellent emotional core of the story as told by the interactions between Samuel and Set. Their relationship being a tenuous friendship that feels like it could crash down at any moment. The ending and it's surprises are really satisfying too. Set's character traverses her arc quietly, but she does it powerfully, silently sucking the audience in to her almost Stygian self destruction. Meanwhile, Samuel is funny on purpose, which is hard to do, he is easily likable and offers much needed levity and a very thick and heavy emotional atmosphere without jarring the scenes too much.

For a film that's billed as a brawler type film, there aren't actually very many fights, and the fights themselves are filmed in a very western style, which means there's cuts before hits actually connect (maybe a limitation with actor safety and not having access to professional stunt people) but it makes the fights both hard to follow and feel less impact. I'd say this film was more of a drama with fights in it rather than a film about fighting.

There are also some strange plot points regarding the boss and the main character that honestly don't make sense.

The sister character (while very well acted) felt like she was built as a plot device to cause/stir up conflict rather than to be a part of the world.

The acting was great and the shots out of the fight scenes were gorgeous. The film doesn't rush itself which is great, and there are some very Blade Runner-esque shots of just holding on a character as they feel an emotion, which is awesome.

Overall, fixing up the shots in the fight scenes, and handling some of the plot threads with the boss and the sister slightly differently would crank this up to an 8 for me.

I am really excited to see what this group of people does next, and I'm really glad I got a chance to see this awesome movie on the big screen!

Awesome indie action thriller featuring a strong female lead and an ethnically diverse fabulous cast. Can't wait to see it again.

I really enjoyed this film! This is for sure a must see! Given with the way it ended, I wonder if there'll be a part 2?!

Split Lip seems to fall victim to a filmmaker trying to do a little too much. An impressive undertaking to be sure; writing, shooting, directing, and editing, Sheffield appears to have bit off a little more than he can chew. Shots and scenes often drag on for longer than they should, as does the movie which could be 20 minutes shorter if shots weren't thought of as precious as they appear to have been. Action scenes are lost to quick cuts, uninspired sound design, and occasional flashes of a bright who-knows-what. Despite the cast seemingly giving it their all, tension is lost from the constant synth drones that don't allow the viewer to experience highs or lows with anything that may be happening.

The story, while basic, is harder to follow than it should be. The motivation for almost every character is lost and, while there's nothing wrong with a simple ex-hit(wo)man on the run story, this movie teases more depth than we get to see. Reveals happen too late and are almost too inconsequential to make up for the lack of plot preceding them.

All that being said, there is a lot of potential for what could have been here. The lead character Set, played by Dorée Seay, doesn't get to showcase what range she may have, falling victim to a lack of dialogue until a monologue at the very end. She holds her own in action scenes but the script never lets her character shine above her determined stare-downs.

The leader of the hitman organization, played by DeJean Brown, gets an introduction that promises more than he's ever allowed to deliver. He nails his expository monologues but the film seemingly ends before the story he's telling gets a satisfying conclusion.

"Sidekick" Samuel, played by Chris Labadie, lends the movie some much needed levity. While his character never exactly feels like he belongs in this movie, it makes me wish that the team had leaned into what he was doing even more and allowed for a movie this tonally dark to have a little more fun. His anxious excitement and comedic run-on quips, while potentially clashing with his dramatic lows, were a breath of fresh air.

While commendable for a small crew to just get a feature like this made, its one-note tone and lackluster script make it hard to recommend, especially with its runtime, but there may be a light at the end of the tunnel for all involved in their future projects.