Jack Begert’s Little Death is a first ambitious venture into directing. The Sundance-selected film gets its intentions across in an early scene of collective moaning. During a meal, Martin Solomon (David Schwimmer), a scriptwriter turned hopeful movie director, bemoans how bad things are in his profession. In addition to complaining about apathetic and overly sensitive audiences, he also talks with Augustus (Fred Melamed) on the limits of narrative-based films. Augustus later on argues that television enables authors to explore inside various individuals while movies can only hold one perception at a time.
Begert’s Little Death is an answer to some extent for Augustus. This screenplay was written with Dani Goffstein by the film’s director. It tries to extend the limit of narrative format that it can break convention and make us think what our relationships are like with stories. It seeks to do this with panache – Begert’s direction is slick and competent – and strong performances from most of the cast members. Still Little Death remains incomplete as an intellectual exercise, leading to an unequipped story that only finds its footing at the end.
The highest gear is where things kick off in this film. A voiceover narration accompanied by trippy animation contemplates existential issues about life concluding that contemporary life involves living within drugs given by doctors and distractions as well as nothing else worth mentioning; it eventually stops upon realization that it was just part of Martin’s work-in-progress screenplay since he feels frustrated due his lack creativity at times when he needs it most . Once famous sitcom The Switch Up writer for TV comedy has decided to return back into writing again – but now for cinema and preferably directing his own low-budget film about death, middle-age, unfulfilled dreams- melancholic stuff indeed! The first half of Little Death roots itself in Martin’s point of view and experiments with different animation techniques to relay the rhythm of his neurotic mind.
Martin is an asshole – a tragic writer who struggles with both inferiority and God complexes. Martin also finds time to complain about his wife, Jena Malone. He has this thing where he stares at the mole on her neck, and criticizes her obsession with weight loss in a recurring bit of humor. Schwimmer certainly does it justice by playing this man who lacks likeable character traits; the actor skillfully manages to show pathetic anxieties and create an impression that there is more than meets the eye to him. But Martin only functions as a cipher for the clichéd white male anger.
The writer becomes catatonic when his agent informs him that funding for his project hinges on changing the protagonist into a woman. “Nobody wants to see some white guy having problems,” they said. “Not even now.” And so, as Little Death gets weirder Martin’s auto-fictional experiment starts seeing things from a female perspective: While Martin speaks with David (Seth Green) and Jayson (Ben Feldman) about what that anonymous producer wants, suddenly Gaby Hoffmann appears instead of his second self or rather Martin 2.0
The exercise that is rather wearisome finally ends, when Martin meets a lady (Angela Sarafyan) in the process of picking up drugs in a pharmacy. He recognises her as she enters the record shop on the opposite side of the road and follows her in. In dreams he has seen this slim girl with piercing eyes, assuming that she is a kind of mystic figure meant to nurse his injured ego and become his project’s star.
Just like Little Death has made us to accept our destiny with Martin, there is a surprising turn here. Now we are introduced to Karla (Talia Ryder) and AJ (Dominic Fike), two addicts who spend one night trying to retrieve a stolen backpack. Out go the weird animations, meta-commentary and existential monologues. Goffstein and Begert settle into the pace of traditional storytelling but ironically this is where they come closest to achieving it. In Karla and AJ, however, Castillo offers characters possessing reasonable depth for emotional connection for viewers as well as crucial ambiguity that maintains our interest throughout. With less tricks and more character development, this part of Little Death stands out most fully realized.
Ryder has proved herself before at carrying movies such as Never Rarely Sometimes Always or even The Sweet East; she brings it again here predictably. She puts some optimism into Karla’s story making her something more than just another college dropout who happens to have addiction problems. A hint or two of brightness sneak in—like when she flirts with someone (played by Odd Future’s Travis Bennett) she likes—that suggests part of her wants to live on. Similarly strong is Fike after being reduced into an internet joke through his role in Euphoria. We can detect tenderness towards others and a desperation for recognition inside AJ’s personality; it may take knowing him better! Fike animates him with shades of protectiveness toward Karla. A key scene of conflict between Karla and AJ resonates powerfully because of the groundwork earlier laid.
In Little Death, this makes it a bit more earthbound story-telling as the two friends journey round Los Angeles. The film grows bolder and funnier as well as more naturally gesturing towards themes that were forcefully announced at the beginning. We are invited to be interested in all the people they come across, not just Karla and AJ’s experiences.
Watch free movies on Fmovies
