Life Just Is

it took me a little bit to get into the movie, but once I did I really enjoyed it. it does an excellent job of capturing the turmoil of being twenty-something -- the confusion, the struggle to "figure it all out." you really find yourself connecting with the characters in unique ways. the dialogue, while it felt a bit scripted at times, is delivered well by actors who seem more experienced than their ages. Pete in particular did a wonderful job. Each of the characters has their own unique struggle throughout the film -- I find something new to connect with each time I watch it. there's something for everyone in this movie and I will definitely be recommending it to friends. I really enjoyed the symbolism throughout the film -- Pete's and Tom's experiences in particular really struck me.

WOW. This one is up their in my league of the awful ones.. Obviously it has no budget, so I'm not going to criticise the actors or the props.. I'm just going to criticise the fact that this made it to IMDb... I'm flabbergasted. This is basically a REALLY long drawn out STUDENT FILM. If any of you aren't familiar with the 'student film', it's basically a very boring, simple look on life (always life), relationships (always relationships) and a tiny tiny tiny pinch of conflict (not too much to put pressure on the actors!).. Here are the exact ingredients:

•1 annoying looking pretty boy

1 bland looking female 1 gay person (male or female)

1 house (student house will do)

1 camera, a cheap light and shopping trolley to push the camera on.

1 awful scriptwritten on the back of a cereal packet.

Mix together with £50 budget to cover pizzas, 2 days to cover all the scenes and move the lighting around, 2 days to put it on a computer and muddle the scenes around with some free music and an old PC to burn it to disc...

That's it.. student film done. If you're still in any doubt, find this film.

A recent trend that seems overused in films is the creation of scripts with groups of people who are friends but have no business being friends in the first place. In other words, when you think about these characters, they simply have nothing in common and are more clichés or formulaic than realistic people. This isn't just true in comedies like the "Hangover" or "Bridesmaids" films but in dramas as well, such as in the new British indie film Life Just Is-- where there are many of the usual formulaic characters (such as the gay character, the black character, etc.) but you keep wondering why they spend time together. And, by the end of the movie, I was still wondering. Why be friends with someone you don't like or someone who treats you terribly?!

This film written and directed by Alex Barrett starts off on an inauspicious note. As four friends are watching some movie, it concludes and one of them says "Well that's an hour and a half of my life I won't get back". Then a couple more friends are soon introduced. Soon after this, you learn that one of their acquaintances has died and the way these mostly 20-somethings respond to this is what makes up the remainder of the film. In many ways, it's a bit like "The Big Chill"...but without the music (in fact, there isn't any and this is very noticeable) or the energy. But it's also much talkier--with folks mostly sitting around talking and talking and talking. This, combined with the low energy make this a difficult film to watch or even finish.

So is the film worth seeing? Probably not unless you are extremely patient. Oddly, I looked through the reviews for this on IMDb and noticed that folks either gave it a 1 or 9 or higher. I wouldn't be nearly as harsh or as glowing and I really do wonder about both sorts of reviews--especially the 9s and 10s. I'd give this one a D+. I certainly wouldn't rush to see it but also saw some promise and hope that the filmmakers and actors use this experience as a springboard to greater things.

This was a delightful refreshing experience for me, an hour of peaceful contemplation for which I would not change anything! I happen to have just graduated just like the characters in the film and I feel like I have known them my whole life.

The film was an extremely brave approach for director Alex Barrett who was on such a tight budget for his first ever feature film! It was beautifully shot through the aesthetic of the 7D and the lighting brought extra glamour to the shots and characters. The absence of soundtrack makes it evermore intense and authentic, "Life Just Is" as the title so clearly states!

Very 'French New Wave' with a contemporary young, good-looking and fun cast, mixed with an emotional tone which brought tears (good and bad ones) to the audience.

Do watch!

The opening scene of 'Life Just is' features four characters watching a film. When it finishes, one of them moans "That's ninety minutes I'll never get back". Like markgorman elsewhere in these reviews, I know how he feels! A group of London twentysomething house-sharers navigate their way through adult life. There's the token black character, the statutory Irish character, the gay character, the non-conformist character in amusing trousers, etc - all the stereotypes present and correct! One of them is having an affair with an older man (he's 34); one is concerned that a strange man he sees on his walk to work might be a terrorist; one is trying to decide whether or not to be religious... all this could be interesting, but is ruined by stilted conversations, lengthy pointless shots of people sitting staring into space or eating breakfast, etc. I hate to be so negative, but this really needed some quality control. Heaven only knows what well-known actor Paul Nicholls is doing in it - I can only assume he lost some sort of bet.