Aimée Price

I caught this movie at the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. It's about a woman who gives up a year of her life for a lifetime of happiness, then decides thirty years later she wants it back. It's a strong premise and fantastic realism is one of my favorite genres. The technical qualities are also very nice. Everything is lit and shot impeccably and I had assumed there were two actresses playing the character at different ages until I saw the make-up credits. Unfortunately, the script has a bunch of weak places where it seems like the writer had two ideas she wanted to get between but didn't know how to do so. Some things, like the exact nature of the deal when Aimée 's year is restored, aren't made clear enough. Also, the acting was rather in a bunch of spots, including from the lead. This sort of thing isn't necessarily the actors' fault. I'm not saying anyone is bad, just that they largely weren't great here. John Savage as the antiquarian is a notable exception. Overall, it was decent, but could have been a lot better with some more experience put into it. This was a first film for the director (and writers, for that matter) and it shows.

Wow - how many shorts have you seen where they touch on things and never resolve any of it and leave you feeling unsatisfied? Not this one! This film was like a mini-feature, running the viewer through a full gamut of emotions and intrigue, and in the end, resolving it for you. I don't want to give anything away because this film is a must-see! But short of spoiling it for you, the lead actress was amazing in her portrayal of Aimee over a wide time-span. She was able to really embody the coldness, while also bringing in her character's humanity, creating a synergy of villain and heroine - someone we can all relate to.

It was filmed beautifully, with the director giving the needed amount of care, especially in a short film, to tell a story with every shot. And the story was so captivating! Aging and beauty are both recurring, prominent themes in human existence that we all struggle with and the way the filmmakers explored these themes forced me to question my own moral beliefs on the issue. My boyfriend and I were so heatedly debating the issue after watching the film that we got in a huge argument. Now that's what I call provocative film-making!