I was given an advanced screening of the short “I Had A Heart Once“, directed by fellow movie reviewer Josh Lewis.
The short itself is only a little bit over five minutes. Our main and only character, John, is apparently ready to finally tell us what is on his mind after a night of heavy drinking and epiphanies.
Interlaced between the dialogue are clips of John wandering aimlessly around the city, looking sad, confused, and depressed, so it is not just simply one man talking on his couch.
One man and a couch? Could be a porno really.
The thing I liked most about the movie was the soundtrack and the last 20 or so seconds. The soundtrack carries the emotions splendidly throughout the short piece and enhances the feelings that the actor is trying to convey. The ending gives us context for his late night rant by finally answering the few questions you have during his talk: Who are you talking to and why?
Unfortunately for me this piece was not as powerful as I could have hoped, and I have been able to single it down to one reason. I didn’t understand almost half of the words spoken by our actor, Rohan Mead. Presumably his goal was to get the message across while also appearing wasted in some capacity. Therefore most of the lines are said quickly and go from whisper to regular voice quite often. His dialogue is very realistic in that regard, a man trying to get something off of his chest (and about his chest, hah) that he has kept deep for some time. But if I don’t know what words he uses, I can’t get lost in the powerful imagery it creates.
Should it have come with subtitles or at least had clearer dialogue, the review would have been higher.