Subtlety lacks in conceptual ‘Thinking of You’
Sean Day, Obreanna McReynolds, and Jessie Neill’s ‘Thinking of You,’ a short film about a stalker’s stalker, presents a profound shift in style from the insert’s first film ‘EmPlosive.’ Whereas the latter is a technologically-savvy, artistic attempt at at short film, the former is a plot-driven, ironic attempt.
The film introduces us to its voyeuristic protagonist, who relies on a camera and a hair ribbon to propel his adventure, while he is at home in a secret room. The room contains a display where he keeps her paraphernalia, including pictures, sticky notes, and cards.
His pursuit of the girl begins in the following scene when he sees her walking down a sidewalk. She, perhaps purposefully, drops a blue ribbon that he immediately finds. The ribbon seems to perpetuate his stalkerish pursuit, which continues throughout the day: he watches her play football, eat, and leave her house on a bike. Remembering that her ribbon is still in his pocket, the stalker-protagonist decides to chase after (literally) his viewing object in order to return the ribbon she dropped, ultimately, giving him an excuse to talk to her.
Not much is exchanged between the two and they both go home. The films final scene is endowed with a somewhat unexpected twist ending. She is, indeed, a stalker as well. Someone else’s stalker, but a stalker nonetheless.
Cute and clever, this film is about how everyone is someone else’s something. We are, apparently, all interconnected and can share each of our petty vices with those whom we least expect. The stalker, stalks a stalker, who stalks another stalker, ad infinitum. Point taken.
So, does that mean we’re all practically the same?
The film lacks a reliable cinematography and screenplay that, for a topic as pervasive as voyeurism, should have been much subtler than it was. Facebook, Twitter, or any of a number of voyeuristic portholes could have replaced the all-to-cliché dropping of the ribbon. The act of stalking itself has morphed in to a subtle, uncontrollable, and, at times, unintentional act that the film failed to represent; stalking with a camera is so nineteen nineties. A lack of believability also hindered the film: stalkers don’t ever try to impress by striking a Heisman pose.
On the up side, the guitar score was nice.
Reel Score: 4 (out of 10)
The short film ‘Thinking of You’ (2009), directed by Sean Day, Obreanna McReynolds, and Jessie Neill, is 4 minutes long and can be found in the DVD insert of volume 22 of ‘blue moon.’
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