The Little Things

IMDb's plot synopsis, the trailer and the DVD box hardly do justice to this fantastic storyline. All the same, the less you know about the plot, the more engrossed you'll be as it unfolds.

You still want to know what it's about? Well... to quote a great line from the movie (which I'm going to make it a point to say to someone at least thrice a day), "It's kind of hard to explain if you're not up on your Chaos Theory!"

In a nutshell, this is an odd love story between 2 characters: a millionaire-slacker & an agoraphobic, obsessive-compulsive girl who insists she has supernatural powers. Exactly what her powers are, we can't be sure of. Nor can we be sure of where the millionaire has stashed his money. All we know is that he's the world's most eligible bachelor, and she's the world's most inaccessible bachelorette and something of a freakshow.

Kathryn Beck's portrayal of the freakshow is so enthralling that you'll find yourself counting the seconds until her next scene. She plays madness in a way I've never seen, with equal portions of charm, cuteness and psychosis. Sort of like Amélie meets Carrie (Amélie being the mousy good samaritan in "Amélie" and Carrie being the girl who sorta made a barbecue of half the senior class in "Carrie"). It's the bizarre juxtaposition of these 2 extreme personalities that made Kathryn both entertaining and creepy to the bone. And you just gotta love her crackly voice which, depending on what mood she's in, sounds like either a cute fairy munchkin who will lead you to the Emerald Castle... or a creepy old witch about to boil you in toad livers.

The millionaire-slacker, played by Chris Hillier, is the more mentally balanced of the two but not without his own eccentricities which really flesh him out and make him a likable character. The two have great chemistry, especially when they're arguing.

What I really enjoyed about this movie was the unpredictable way it was presented. Through the characters' bipolar performances as well as a cool soundtrack that oscillates between fun & disturbing music, we never know for sure if this love story is a romcom or an epic tragedy. All the way up until the final, nail-biting conclusion, it could go either way, and the director did a great job of maintaining that suspense until the last 10 seconds.

Filmed on a micro-budget of around $20k, shot in 15 days with a skeleton crew of 20 people (who doubled as extras), "The Little Things" is a remarkable achievement with a great story, entertaining script and some gorgeous visuals to tie it all up. There are some hauntingly beautiful shots that make artistic use of sunlight & dust particles (or in one scene, thousands of shimmering snowflakes) which I'm sure was the director's way of drawing our attention to little things (aha! "Little Things". Duh I just got that).

Given its unique story, this movie defies comparison. But I would say if you enjoyed "Amélie" (2001) or "Benny & Joon" (1993) or "Camille" (2007) or "Il Mare" (original 2000 Korean version of "The Lake House") then you won't be disappointed here.

I watched this at the Maryland International Film Festival and it is one of the best Indie Films i've seen this year. The Little Things won (& thoroughly deserved) BEST FILM at the festival.

It's a highly compelling film from start to finish it sweeps you up into these characters lives and just seems to fly by. What could have been your stock standard Romantic Comedy, turns out to be this thought provoking, quirky and enjoyable film. The director does an amazing job, he has handled the film with a gentle energy and with out giving too much away, has made the deliberate and very strong choice not to take the supernatural/fantasy route, leaving it open for the viewer to decide - which really adds to the charm.

The whole cast turns out enjoyable and strong performances, but Dee (Kathryn Beck) just steals the show. The moment she opens the door into her world, you just want to see more of her. The less then professional real estate boss Tom (Tim Boyle) turns in a great performance as the comic relief. My only gripe with the film is, itʼs a shame the younger cast from the beginning isnʼt in the film more because theyʼre a lot fun to watch and provide the perfect introductions to these characters, which really hooks you into the film. Another reason to watch this is the gorgeous cinematography, one shot in particular a hallway scene at night, has a delightful frame composition that feels like a work of art that belongs in a gallery.

It is quite astonishing that this film was made for just $20,000 and is a real credit to the director to pull this off, you get the sense that Neil McGregor has what it takes to be one of the great story tellers and is an actors director. I look forward to seeing more work from him, along with Kathryn Beck.

I highly recommended watching this quirky and thought provoking film that reminds you that it's little things in life that count.

what its about: a young guys path is changed when he stumbles upon a quirky girl who believes she can change the world through her thoughts. he returns to his home town years after to come across her again, only to find her more disturbed by 'the little things' in life.

what i liked: the storyline was somewhat creative and thought provoking. i found the scenes improved vastly as the film developed and by the end i was somewhat intrigued as to the outcome. there was one camera shot that i quite like and it's further into the film when dee (kathryn beck) suffers a traumatic experience inside the house... the shot is impressive in terms of colour and composition. i also found the editing quite smooth on the eyes. i most enjoyed kathryn becks scenes as her acting seemed to play a strong part in holding up the film. i found the movie improved vastly once her character was introduced. she played the role of a disturbed woman well and the other actors characters also seemed to improve in her presence.

what i didn't like: the largest gripe i had with this film was the first half hour of acting. i found the performances to be quite hard to watch and was wincing in some parts however it really is worth sitting through the hard stuff as there is significant improvement as the film progresses. some of the scenes didn't flow smoothly into the others and i found myself questioning what was happening in some sections of the movie. the audio did tend to need to be leveled out a little when the music scenes were played in comparison to the spoken word, but the choice of music in it makes for a good indie soundtrack. the lighting tended to be a tad dark for the interior scenes but that could be due to watching it on a small screen rather than in the cinema.

how did the movie make me feel? at first i found the movie quite hard to sit through due to the acting but as it continued, i did get quite engaged in the storyline. towards the end, the film had put me in quite a thoughtful and satisfied mood as i was pleasantly surprised by it's progressive story line. the most important thing to remember with this film is that it is not sitting on a Hollywood budget (a mere $20,000) so it can only do so much in terms of costuming, set design etcetera. overall, for a small Australian film, the script was different and it does really improve the further into the movie you watch. for the budget set, the director neil mcgregor has made an impressive and quirky movie that is worth viewing not only to support the local film market, but to see a varied story that does pull together in the end quite well.