The Critic

We are each are own worst critic.

Stella Velon's 'The Critic' is an intriguing and fascinating look at the inner struggles of an artist, how self-doubt and a feeling of imposter syndrome can manifest itself in self destructive manners.

The film tells the story of an inexperienced actress, played by Velon, who, after winning a big award, is being interviewed on her performance. Throughout the film the interviewer, played by Smyth, is trying to provoke a reaction out of the actress and as time goes on asks more deep and personal questions.

The acting in this film is fantastic, Velon plays her role with an emotional depth that is achieved even by the most subtle of looks, with most of film simply being shots of her face, and her reactions, she does an incredible job at pulling the audience into her life and the inner demons she is battling. Smyth also plays the role of the interviewer fantastically, not as someone curious about the actress but someone who has a preconceived notion of her and wishes to break her down. Using the most passive aggressive tone, he plays it more like a therapist trying to coerce the actress into saying what he wants her to hear.

The quality of both the production and the narrative is no small feat either, some indie shorts can feel low-budget or rushed but this film had beautiful cinematography and lighting, like the glorious opening shot of Velon playing her acceptance speech over in her head while gazing into the mirror, and it also allowed the actress time to sit in the moment and let us really see the emotions that are going through her head.

The use of lighting and extreme close-ups on the interviewer makes it overtly obvious that he is acting as a vessel for the actress' own insecurities and is an external manifestation of her self-worth. While heavy-handed in its execution, it is an intriguing narrative device and really allows us to explore the inner struggles the actress is facing.

This device really is an extension of what the film is about, self-worth and what we deem important to us but also the pressures we place upon ourselves and how we react to those pressures. We learn that the actress has a history of substance abuse, and even see some of this in a wonderfully acted and scored scene, where the actress breaks down due to the pressure of the interview, or more likely the pressures she has placed upon herself.

Not to spoil the ending but I think it was a nice, if strange, way to show the importance of film, how real it can feel and how it can reflect struggles faced in people's personal lives.