To Ease the Loss

I must admit, I am not a fan of short films, never have been, and until I saw this piece of film, I would have said "never will be." To Ease The Loss is a fantastically done short, a film that in twenty minutes will take you through the gauntlet of emotions. When I saw it, it was at a film festival in Rhode Island, and at the end of this twenty minute movie, there was not one dry eye in the room. I mean people from 7 to 70. This film touched everyone in the room, and even beyond it's emotional beauty, it is a work of art. I mean that in the film sense: in terms of a piece of film being art in its own right, To Ease The Loss takes the cake. I have only given two other movies a 10/10, and those two were Memento and The Shawshank Redemption, so know that this is in very good company. 10/10.

Stumbled upon the earlier review by accident - I'm not sure what room the review's talking about when he says there wasn't a dry eye in it. I was there too, and my girlfriend and I couldn't help snickering at the maudlin mush assaulting us from the screen. When the lights came on I caught several people grinning to themselves, clearly for the same reasons we were. I guess if you have the emotional capacity of a twelve year old, or perhaps are a fan of trite clichés, this would be a touching movie. If not, try never to see it.

I will admit that the acting is decent - Jackman does a good job with what he's given. However, try as he might, he can't escape the boundaries erected by shallow, one-dimensional writing and unimaginative directing.

The director clearly has a real future...at Hallmark.