Black Ruby

I watched Black Ruby at the London Film Awards. The story follows an obese swine of a being Jules Mandel, played by Joseph Mennella who falls for a black manipulative harlot named Ruby, played by Krystal E. Heredia and the delinquent disturbed best mate Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides who falls lovesick for her.

Aside from the story being hailed the first feature of 2017 to be shot with the iPhone-7, the storyline is the highlight focusing on manipulation, naughty ideas, opportunist males, and abuse. I have seen the film reviews since the festival and promotional shards 'Bradno and Montgomery Clift performances.' I don't know how they'd compare Jules Mandel's character Brando like. It's a stubby performance of a bruised man but nothing out of the ordinary. Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides owns the night modifying his skin, eyes and hair for the part; that's Brando for you! Laoutides' delicate and inner pain is Clift. You need to appreciate the mate for writing and acting in his own film for a third time.

It would have been nice to have the mates here for the FAQs so I can deliberate some of their artistic choices. The rank above is really attributed to my amusement of the Lewis Katz character.

The Rome Film Awards belonged to Guillermo Del Toro's the Human Face, but I believe creativity belonged to Black Ruby, seeing what can be done with the iPhone 7. Speaking of the Human Face a nice transition for Zachary Laoutides playing Louis Katz, a musician who falls in love with a Black Hispanic escort named Ruby, played by the appealing Krystal E. Heredia. His best friend, whose trying to hold onto his adolescence, Jules Mandel, played by the pudgy Joseph Mennella, manipulates Louis, being on meds and a vagabond. Jules' father was a famous jazz musician and he faiths to follow in the notoriety, but he's not endowed and uses Louis to write him melody as well as make extra bread in street fights.

Using an analogy Louis is an attractive mistreated dog in the film, abused by his abuser his best friend Jules. The movie has insightful dark comedy commentary by Quazy a thug who coordinates street fights and is associates with the leading characters.

The film is artsy and combines cultural ingenuity, with music, race and poetic acting. I was impressed that a film like this came out of the US feeling like it should have come out of London or France.

The mates of Jules and Louis are picking the forbidden apple from the tree of good and evil not sure what they're truly embarking upon when each take a bite out of Ruby, the black harlot or as the tale calls her Black Ruby a forbidden gem. Interesting that the black hustler Quazy who set's up the street fights in the movie narrates the entire film. Good choice.

The film could have upped the sex, upped the dialogues and upped the performances. Though, the subtlety works and the artsy approach of moods and silent performances with a dab of violence secure the film. I fathom sexually I wouldn't want to see Jules Mandel, the fat waster, he is played by Joseph Mennella have erotic dealings, his 5 second awkward chubby bang was enough. Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides reminded me of French film flashes, he sells the sexuality with his face to a rather numb and bland Ruby, played by Krystal Heredia. I can't justify why she was so expressionless in the film, but maybe it was her character choice, but a little too distant for me to care.

The soundtrack made by Manchester's own Liam Williams is stellar and award worthy. Any Brando similarities should be attributed to Zachary Laoutides. Joseph Mennella will disappoint you if you think he is anything close to Brando or even expressions the classical looker. I can conclusively see the Montgomery Clift comparison to Laoutides, he is a unusual actor who understands silence and expressions.

This film is full of forbidden fruits because they break the guidelines in film, but that is why the film was liked, applauded and nominated. Audiences like rule breakers.

Black Ruby was one of the few films that got the filmmaking crowd's rowdy at the London Film Awards. It was an inspiration for the aspiring filmmakers, yes; they can create their visions with their iPhones. Black Ruby is the first feature film in 2017 to be shot with the iPhone 7, although the entire film is not filmed exclusively with it. Visually the movie shows off dark colors, shadowy and gloomy, occasionally with black and white, matching the dark storyline of two Jazz musicians falling for a Black prostitute.

To the films credit we're not getting an HD flawless sparkling imagery. Much like the other films this studio puts out classical dated depictions. The storyline line is slower, musically charged and art house making it rare.

A good character performance by the actor Zachary Laoutides playing Louis Katz, whom has written his last three films. Speaking with the composers in attendance they confirmed British artists composed the soundtrack. I can see why the filmmakers in Manchester took to this film and applauded it at the end, an empowering film for future filmmakers.

Black Ruby is an actor's piece and does have dark comedy elements, kind of Kevin Smith and a bit of Woody Allen. The movie does have its share of violence and remarkably strays away from sexual antics. Ruby, is played by the exotically silent Krystal E. Heredia, which her role is really a subplot with the main theme being a brotherhood gone wrong between Jules and Louis.

Joseph Mennella and Zachary Laoutides certainly do conjure Brando and Clift mannerism and expressions, with Laoutides entirely changing physicality in the movie changing his hairstyle and eye color to exceedingly display his range. This is Laoutides' third film coming off his 2017 release of the thriller Arise from Darkness (FYI much better when the film was called 'When My Eye's Go Dark' and not catering to the ghost fanatics) and he once again is the screenplay writer and co-star.

From my observations all of Laoutides' screenplays seem to have an art house quirky subtlety to them and Black Ruby is no different. You will need to figure out what is hidden in between the lines or do playbacks to see what you may have missed.

Also, not happy reading these reviews and some of the commentaries. Why was the film changed to color when parts of it were supposed to be black and white? I felt the same way, 'jeeez this film should be black and white, that would work really well.' To only find out it was!

Directors cut would be nice.