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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Look, if you’re into the history of silent film, sure, dive in. It’s a short, weird blast from the past. But if you’re looking for a coherent story that makes any sense by the third act, you’re gonna have a bad time. It’s for the folks who get a kick out of seeing how movies were put together before they figured out how to pace things properly. 🎞️
Joseph Henabery is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Sometimes he looks like he’s actually terrified, and other times it seems like he’s just waiting for the lunch bell to ring. It’s that kind of performance—uneven, frantic, and totally fascinating.
The movie tries to carry this weight of political tension, but mostly it just feels like people running through hallways. There’s a scene where someone drops a letter, and the way they stare at the floor for a full five seconds feels like an eternity. It’s painfully awkward, but I couldn't look away.
You can tell they were working with a shoestring budget. The sets look like they’re held together by sheer willpower and maybe some cheap tape. It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in John Needham's Double, though this one has a much grittier, dirt-under-the-fingernails feel.
It’s not as polished as The Cinderella Man, that’s for sure. But there’s a soul to it. It’s not trying to win an award; it’s just trying to tell a story before the film roll runs out. Sometimes that's enough.
The pacing is honestly all over the map. One moment we’re in a high-stakes standoff, and the next we’re watching someone walk down a staircase for what feels like a decade. It doesn't make sense, but it’s kind of charming in its own messy way. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but I've definitely sat through worse.