A LAND OF BOTH SHADOW AND SUBSTANCE, OF THINGS AND IDEAS
Short Film Review – E.M.M.A.
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Review by Justin T. Bowler
Shorts are tough beasts to tackle. Typically, the filmmaker doesn’t have a lot of money (if they did, they would make a feature), the filmmakers are typically newer (if they weren’t, they would make a feature), the dialogue/writing in general isn’t very refined (if it was, it would be a feature), and the actors are typically newer as well (if they weren’t, they would be in features). But, when shorts are in the hands of seasoned and learned professionals, they can be a great encompassing example of artistic capability. Such is the case with “E.M.M.A.” by Stephen Herman at Broken Box Inc.
This movie is not about big budgets, and tantalizing visuals that blow the mind. This movie is NOT Emma… Stone.
“E.M.M.A.” is reminiscent of “The Twilight Zone”. For those of you that don’t know… before the dawn of “The Twilight Saga” (2008) (a story about a glittering vampire, his emotionless girlfriend, and her star-crossed lover, the wolfboy), there was a series in 1959 (yes, that’s right, way back before even the first “High School Musical” (2006)), called “The Twilight Zone”. It was a weekly half-hour sci-fi drama (but it didn’t air on The Sci-Fi Channel, it was on CBS (that station your grandparents watch)). No, it wasn’t about space creatures, The Force, or even Buzz Lightyear, it was simply a show about people in different worlds than ours. It was typically a future, distant, or alternative world.
Furthermore, the story lines were just about people and how they dealt with extraordinary circumstances. How boring, right? Well, NO. It was in fact, a tremendous series, whose writing still holds up today. “E.M.M.A.” is a short in the vein of the classic “Twilight Zone” series. Though it is, technically, a sci-fi short, it isn’t about special effects, it doesn’t take place in space, and there isn’t a single robot that transforms into a vehicle (I know, how boring, right? NO). It is a well-crafted and well-written story by Stephen Herman.
This movie is not about medium-sized budgets that have good concepts, but not the producers behind it to make it really good. This movie is NOT Emma…Roberts.
IMDB synopsis: “What Is Today’s Test? Two scientists must decide on the fate of a robot that they have grown attached to”. Charlie Gillette (a beautiful female) plays the robot being tested. Kristen Mae Carbone is her testing scientist. Nicholas Wilder rounds out the cast as a doctor with some kind of ever-present alternate motive. Wilder is excellent in this film, btw. His acting is superb, never giving away his intention, yet subtlety playing his agenda truthfully. Total props to him.
This is the exact type of film that people need to seek out, watch and support. I’ve seen several shorts where people sought to just “make a short”, as opposed to tell a new interesting story from an innovative standpoint. The latter kind of indie filmmaking needs to be further supported. How? Well, I see several Indiegogo posts per week looking for support. I also see lot of those campaigns publicizing the incentives for funding their project, but rarely do I see innovative projects that are tantalizing in their description, clever in their incentives, and really motivating for people to fund, as opposed to just asking for money. For example, here is a Kickstarter campaign (for an independent webseries) that just blew my mind with its incentives and personality:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2005963869/jeff-cannatas-new-show
The page is fun just to read! It motivates you to fund it (FYI, Kickstarter lets you post more words than, say, Indiegogo in your description and incentives). I also found an Indiegogo campaign for an independent theatre project that was charming, funny, and motivating:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/eclect-a-fest
This campaign, while shorter in description (a downside to Indiegogo), is more efficient in its verbiage, and motivates one to give as well (clearly, not as well as the first, since it earned $150K) (We will catch up with the second in 25 days and see what it’s at then) (The first also had a built-in audience, in the host’s Twitter feed. So, there is that).
My point being… When an artist such as Stephen Herman and his group come along with an innovative, well-told, and well-executed idea, we as members of their community need to support it. Overall, I think this film is a really good short. It is professionally done, well-executed, interesting to watch, yet, smaller in notoriety.
This film is Emma… Willis.
3 out of 4 stars for Short fans (not the Peter Dinklage type)
3.5 out of 4 stars for Sci-fi fans.
3.5 out of 4 stars for filmmakers (kind of the same thing as “Shorts” fans)
(*The only people who appreciate shorts are filmmakers.)
Your indie film reviewer,
Justin Bowler
@JustinTBowler
Directed by: Stephen Herman
Release Date: May 30, 2014
Run Time: 14 Minutes
