Everlasting

'EVERLASTING': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie teen-romance/crime-drama; about a high school filmmaker that's trying to catch his girlfriend's killer. The story is told in real time, mixed with home video flashbacks (filmed by the young director). It was written and directed by sophomore feature filmmaker Anthony Stabley; and it stars Valentina de Angelis, Adam David, Elisabeth Rohm, Michael Massee (in his last film role, before his death), Bai Ling, Pat Healey, Robert LaSardo and Cortney Palm (in a cameo appearance). I found it to be a pretty interesting, and well made little indie flick.

Matt (David) and Jessie (de Angelis) were two misfit high school outcasts, that felt like they were deeply in love. Then Jessie decided she needed to move to Los Angeles, from Colorado, and become a model there. After becoming a small success (in that business), and experiencing society's darker side, Jessie turns up dead (murdered by a serial killer). Matt then decides to travel to L.A., to confront the killer, after he receives a package from him. He documents his experiences, with his camera, along the way.

The movie is surprisingly well made; for a mostly unheard of low- budget little indie flick. It's beautifully filmed, acted and well written (the dialogue mostly seems believable). I especially like Valentina de Angelis in the lead; she's very beautiful, and quite talented. Palm is always a scene-stealer, but her part is too brief, and the veteran actors all do a good job. I think the film has a lot of interesting things to say, and it mostly seems genuine, but it doesn't quite all come together right (by it's ending). I expected a little more, but it is a good watch.

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I was really impressed by this film. It's an unnerving, mysterious and unpredictable thriller that works wonders through the use of its non- linear storytelling, furthered by its effective use of hand-held camera, making for a thoroughly captivating watch throughout. It may not always have the pulsating beat of a truly intense thriller, but it's a consistently intriguing watch full of clever twists from start to finish.

Let's start off with what I thought worked best here, the story structure. Non-linear crime mysteries are often the films that make best use of the format, but I've often seen it lead to convoluted and uninteresting stories. That's not the case with Everlasting, as it regularly moves between various time periods, ranging from the two's relationship way back before the murder occurred to the boyfriend's continued distress as a result.

You may think that spoiling the murder right off the bat would be pointless, but the great thing about this film is that it's about the emotional effects of losing someone close to you, and by presenting the story in non-linear fashion, we're able to learn so much about the main characters, all the while still preserving a sense of mystery surrounding the as yet unexplained events that occur right in the middle.

As I said, I didn't find the film a breathless and endlessly exhilarating watch, but the story that's told is still a fascinating one. Director Anthony Stabley paces the film very well throughout, making use of the non-linear story to keep feeding in small but intriguing details that, whilst only slowly building towards the resolution, make for an enthralling watch.

The film's visual style is also a big positive. If there's ever a way that indie movies try to disguise low budgets, it's through the use of hand-held camera. Everlasting uses a lot of that too, but it's actually to the film's benefit. Cleverly telling the story through the eyes of our main character, a film student, the use of hand-held camera feels totally justified, and even lends another level of eerie realism that makes some of the story's grislier details more affecting.

I'm not going to lie, this isn't a particularly pleasant watch. As wonderful as some of the visuals and settings are, the centre of the story is very dark and unsettling. There are moments when the film goes a little overboard with its graphic depiction of sex and violence, not always fitting in with the mysterious atmosphere, it's generally a very subtly unnerving film. It has the perfect sort of score, almost unnoticeable yet hugely effective and it has a realistic visual style, all coming together to make a genuinely unsettling vibe that renders the mystery of the days leading up to and following the murder even more intriguing.

The performances here in Everlasting are pretty good too. Although there are moments when some slightly wobbly dialogue isn't delivered so well, both Adam David and Valentina De Angelis are hugely convincing in their roles. The two have an excellent chemistry that makes their romantic relationship an effective storytelling tool, whilst they clearly portray the two characters' stark differences, creating a different level of emotional drama beyond the horror of the murder at the centre of the story, which I thought was brilliant to see.

In general, this film is very good, but if I were to have one problem with it, it's the overuse of narration. Although helpful and necessary in the opening act to explain the situation at hand, I really felt like the narration from our main character, looking back on the events depicted in his film, was unnecessary and occasionally intrusive later on in the film. That's largely because of the fact that the directing here is easily good enough to tell us the story at hand without even saying a word, and with narration effectively repeating what we're already seeing and feeling again and again, it can be a little distracting.

Overall, however, I was really surprised by Everlasting. It's a small indie thriller with big brains, and the capacity to provide some genuine excitement and intrigue with an ingeniously-written story. It's not on the level of the likes of Se7en and Gone Girl, but with brilliant directing, writing and performances, it's a thoroughly captivating watch from start to finish.

I usually don't go for these type of movies...i.e. thriller/horror, but I found this non-linear approach captivating. This film felt disjointed at first, and about 20 minutes in, I couldn't stop watching. The performances and rhythm of this film are pretty good, as well as the story, but I think the story could have been fleshed out a bit more. The boy actor looking for the killer of his girlfriend does a good job portraying the anxiety and tenacity of his character...however, I would have liked to have felt a great intensity. The aesthetics and overall production value of this movie is solid. All in all...worth the watch!

I like non linear storytelling so that automatically makes this movie right up my alley. I would definitely call it more of a thriller than a horror movie, so if you're looking for out and out blood and guts, this is not that kind of movie. But so what? The story is what's important and that's the big plus with this movie. I like that they take their time and don't allow the audience to get ahead of the movie. The story tells enough visually that some of the dialogue wasn't necessary, but that's speaks more positively about the visual effectiveness of this movie as opposed to saying something negative about the dialogue. All and all an enjoyable indie film!

Everlasting is a haunting film that had all the ingredients to keep you hooked from the beginning to the end, a well-structured film, expertly structured and edited. Valentina de Angelis and Adam Perez, the lead actors, were credible and sympathetic. Director Anthony Stabley was in total control and had effectively succeeded in blending romance and mystery throughout the film. Everlasting is a well-made independent film that I highly recommend.