The Movie – Review
85 Minutes, Not Rated
Written and Directed by Michael Mandell
Synopsis:
Former child star Janet Gillespie is home alone one night when the doorbell rings and Walter, a delivery boy, shows up with a big package on a dolly. He recognizes her. Takes a selfie with her. Tells her he wrote a screenplay for her and even has it with him. Soon, Janet’s bound to the dolly and Walter’s shooting his movie right there in her house. Of course, Walter is no delivery boy at all. He’s a renegade filmmaker doing whatever it takes to get his movie in the can, which just so happens to be the worst movie of all time, Water Under the Fridge. Walter thinks it’s only compelling if it’s real, so he makes Janet experience the things her character is experiencing for real. There’s an onscreen kiss, a love scene, even a death scene, and Janet’s gotta do it all… with or without consent.
When I finished watch The Movie, I didn’t go ahead and write this review immediately. As it happens, that’s a good thing, because it would have been a much different review.
It was going to be bad.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? I mean, this isn’t going to be a rave review or anything. This is most certainly not Citizen Kane, if you will.
But what it is is a very low-budget, simple concept, minimalist film designed to do one thing: frighten you.
Yes, Jarrod Pistilli’s performance as Walter is a bit too on-the-nose cheesy, but Bonnie Root’s Janet is actually really spectacular. I bought into her right from the start, and she simply kept getting better as The Movie rolled along.
Once we really figured out what Walter’s deal was, things got a bit easier to digest, though.
I think the biggest thing that changed as I considered this in the last few days is that this movie ends the way I’ve said for years that I want some movies like this to end, and the fact that the filmmaker did it, didn’t bail out on the concept at all, is what finally turned me around on this one.
Sure, The Movie isn’t going to win any awards or anything, but it set itself up to do what it did, and then it didn’t shy away.
The Movie hits digital platforms on September 6 and stars Bonnie Root and Jarrod Pistilli.
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