User Reviews

The music overpowered the dialogue in the first few minutes, which was very distracting, thankful that it stopped. It began again during a minute in the middle, where again you can't hear the dialogue, but feel you are meant to, was annoying and took you out of the scene. The men's suits were not vintage, but the rest of the look was period specific enough. The fiancé' was a terrible actor, can't tell if that was purposefully done or not. The other actors were inexperienced but decent enough for a quality short. Visibly nervous and stiff, the two leads managed to relax into their roles and pull the viewer in, enough to care about them, an achievement for a film under 14 minutes. Director's use of mostly tight shots kept the minuscule but well detailed sets forefront so the viewer keeps the feeling of being in the time period. The cinematography is very well done, keeping most scenes in a warm, golden tone which adds to the vintage feel and gives the film a relaxed atmosphere that keeps your attention. Then the stark contrast of the stage performance scenes become a bit jarring and cold, edging closer to the tension of the magician's final act, and the unexpected climax. The lack of believability in the role of the fiancé' softens the blow of the climax a bit unfortunately, but the scene still works. The compelling story line keeps you glued, would make a good feature. Ending was unexpected and exciting.