Sean Stone, son of the great director Oliver Stone, has given us his first fictional film. It is the tale of a dystopia future where sickness is controlled by taking away the sick people in secret and out of society for good, seemingly. This short film is called "Singularity", and has been released on the Internet as well as at a few film festivals. While there are faults, I find it a great first film to have in the early stages of your career.
It's not easy to be the son of a famous film maker; the film is based on a short university film that Oliver Stone had made early in his youth. However, Sean presents us with his skills as a film director and a screenwriter in his own right. The film focuses on three people. One of them (Jonathan Charis) is Michael, a government worker who takes infected people away. His friends are Marie (Sinta Weisz) and a questioning writer named Wells (Wyatt Denny).
The film opens with Michael and Marie in Marie's apartment room. Marie is hostile to Michael as he sits in the room, thinking to himself. There is a hidden story between them, but neither of them have to openly talk about it; they're aware of it and each other's role in it.
In a series of flashbacks, this story is told. Michael and Wells dispute the government over a game of basketball while Marie watches. Wells wonders what goes through Michael's head as he takes people away. Michael is hostile to Wells' questions, and it prompts Wells to go further with his philosophy. Michael ends the conversation by telling him to stick to writing.
It's clear that Marie has mixed feelings when faced with the two men. As the film progresses though, Marie grows attached to the inquiring Wells, and is also interested in this plague that has changed their society so drastically. Seeing Marie with Wells, staring riveted as he speaks freely about such controversial topics, we have a bad feeling about what caused her hostility towards Michael in the present-day.
The film is easily accessible at the time of writing this review. I highly recommend it for someone who wants a quick viewing of a good short film. Sean Stone is on the way to great things, hopefully, and will be able to take the good qualities of this film and improve them further as he goes along.
