Notting Hill Anxiety Festival (2003) User Reviews

stylish short

[mdilbert · 7/10 · 9 July 2004]

Pleasantly surprising to see a stylish short coming from the UK. Basically, Julie Delpy has existential crisis one morning sipping cappuccino in a trendy Notting Hill cafe "because she was compared to her pretty sister" (Hard to believe after watching Delpy's beautiful face exhaling a sexy cloud of smoke!). But in the end I felt for her character; a rarity in short films coming out of the UK at the moment.

The content is good but the style/form is the true winner in this film. Velvety colors, the costumes, the surreal moments; I watched a European looking short filmed in UK!

It'll be interesting to see what this team does after this short.

MDilbert

glossy looking rubbish

[filmrus · 7/10 · 18 July 2004]

I'm not exactly sure what the film maker wanted to say in this short (thankfully!) film. The film is a 12 minutes long monologue about how Julie Delpy's character feels about her life. The questions her character ask are more suitable for a teenage girl (what am I doing here, what if...? etc...).

The film looks glossy without any substance, and I think the director should be making Nescafe spots (if s/he is not already doing so) rather than narrative films.

In summary, a pretentious and glossy piece of work. I'm aware these kind of films tend to divide the audience right in the middle and I'm afraid, I'm on the other side.

touching drama in West London

[smileygirl · 10 August 2004]

contrary to the last reviewer I found this short film very moving in all of its 11 minutes. The story deals with the serious subject of anxiety and depression in young people which can be a difficult/taboo subject.

Like any young woman, I could personally relate to Julie Delpy character's angst and anxiety. It's interesting to see the films maker has chosen the glam surrounding of West London to show this dark story. And it works.

I've been following this film maker's work for a couple of years now and I found his last film about a disabled teenager very emotional and poignant. This is a director to watch out for!

general overall appraisal

[david-1364 · 10/10 · 28 June 2004]

Well worth seeing for style and production values alone. Sound is superb and a moving, haunting and well balanced piece on the whole. Oddly cheering despite a potentially dark theme.Delpy is suitably demure and off centre as always.

David Brooks adds a refreshingly different tone to offset any overt heaviness in the piece. Although centred around a suicide the film adds a certain pathos to the notion of life as a futile space between birth and death. Anxiety here has a wry smile about it. From the talk given by Dominic Norris (producer) I believe that this is a short/pilot for a feature that explores the theme of anxiety in greater depth. Hopefully with the same warmth however.

Ravi Kumar is clearly a director/auteur to watch out for!