126. The Conversations; movie review

THE CONVERSATIONS
Cert 12A
75 mins
BBFC advice: Contains moderate bad language, moderate sex references

Quite often I will approach independent film-makers and ask to review their movies.
In return, they express their thanks that I should be taking the time to contact them and send me internet links to their work.
I always try to be objective about my film reviews but I admit that I tend to look kindly upon independents, particularly young movie-makers because they deserve to be encouraged.
The problem comes when I watch films which just don't resonate with me at all.
Such is the case with with Marcus Flemmings and Haider Zafar's The Conversations which surround the traumatic love split of a young man, Al, (Zafar) and his girlfriend, Ellie, (Daniella Down).
This is a low-budget movie which scores a very creditable 7.2/10 on internet movie database, the bible of film fans.
However, when I dug a little deeper into these stats I was left scratching my head. Two of the 13 people who had marked the film gave it 10/10.
Of the 3,100 movies I have reviewed over the past five years, I have only awarded 10/10 to a dozen. Included are the likes of Spotlight, 12 Years A Slave and Skyfall. I doubt that The Conversations' makers aspired to such dizzy heights.
The Conversations may be aimed at a younger audience than me but I can still vividly remember the hurt of the end of young love.  As this film reflects - being dumped ain't fun and leaves scars.
Here, Al, a dentist and wannabe stand-up comic, has been besotted with Ellie and now she has gone he drifts into a surreal depression while wearing a very obviously false beard.
Soaking up his woes are his friend, Jodie (Anna Leong Brophy) and a strange short fella (Michael Keane) who behaves as if he is on drugs.
The Conversations is deliberately created to appear like a series of individual scenes strung together, hence its title. Sometimes I understood the way in which they were linked, sometimes the tangent was too difficult to follow.
I have seen this film tagged as a comedy drama but I have to confess that I found it neither funny (the stand-up comedy scenes seemed to be deliberately cringeworthy) nor dramatic. It may well be that it was trying too hard to cover too many bases.
On the plus side its actors are vibrant and bring a zest which promise more given a script which is better focused.

Reasons to watch: its fresh young actors
Reasons to avoid: it is so surreal it becomes difficult to follow

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 4/10
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