The Secret Life of Jonathan Sky (2011) User Reviews

Not sure what to make of finished product

[playerpage · 5/10 · 12 March 2012]

I have to say that if "Jonathan Sky" is trash, it is some of the most well thought out and highly motivated trash I have seen. And I don't necessarily mean the plot. Having been involved in the production I mean the whole thing. Every person who worked on the project put in long hours and went the extra mile--heck, they rented a special rig just to protect the car!

When it was over, however, I found myself sitting in the theater wondering if this story had been worth all that effort. Was my reaction Door #1: here is the birth of a new vital talent, or Door #2: this was a waste of violent trash easy to predict at the beginning? I found that my emotional response to the story was impossible to separate from my emotional investment in the project.

What I can say, for certain, is that this is definitely a film that leaves the audience feeling as though the experience is too short. That they want more--that they want to KNOW more about what came next-- regardless of their reaction to it. That may be my answer right there.

15 Minutes of Lame, Sick, Predictable Clichés

[poindexter_mellon · 1/10 · 3 March 2012]

The first 1 minute seemed to have potential but it went downhill fast from there. One totally implausible situation after another for 15 seemingly endless minutes, capped off by a saw-it-coming-from-13-minutes-away violent bit of sicko trash. This movie is disgusting, and don't be misled into believing that its ability to generate such strong feelings in a viewer is in itself an indication of artistic quality. That is the last refuge of garbage peddlers masquerading as artists.

And by the way, when you can't tell the difference between a spare tire and an engine, you probably shouldn't be offering roadside mechanical assistance.

truly vile

[Bou · 2/10 · 13 April 2013]

*Here there be SPOILERS.* Not that this film isn't spoiled from start to finish.

I had the displeasure of watching this as part of a SeeFlik month on On Demand. I'm a fan of short indies, especially tense thrillers. This was anything but. What was coming at the end was all too clear from the first few minutes, although nothing could have prepared me for the far-fetched quality of the rationale for it, or for the extreme brutality.

I suppose I should have been ready for the former flaw, though, because the whole film is completely implausible. How could Sky expect that his desired victim would drive by? Or that she would stop? Or that someone else wouldn't? And if she did to him the implausible thing that she did in high school, wouldn't she remember him? (Or if she's *not* actually that same girl---which I've considered in the year since I saw this, that he's just that insane---that's not made at all clear to the viewer.) And why would she stop and try to figure out anything about his car instead of just phoning someone for help or getting help at the next gas station? And if she's nice enough---though also dim enough---to do all that she does to try to assist, would he really still go through with his plan? My biggest complaint in the Ludicrousness Department is that there is no mom on the face of the planet who'd willingly get in a car and drive off with some stranger *leaving her kid in the other car.* Slee knows jack about women.

I'm disturbed that SeeFlik's 2011 competition put this in its top 20. I'm disturbed that they categorized it under "Social Issues" or some such inappropriate moniker. I'm disturbed that the tag line on the SeeFlik site says, "How far will one man go to mend a broken heart?" That's not mending---it's over-the-top vengeance. And I'm extremely disturbed that this is filmed in a way that seems to insist that we the audience are supposed to side with Sky, that we are to empathize with his extreme vengeance instead of wishing he'd got the hell over it.

Well, I wish he'd got the hell over it. And that I'd never seen the movie. There's enough misogynist crap out there to last several lifetimes. I'd have given this a 1, except for the fact that the acting wasn't completely egregious, and some of the filming was vaguely interesting, and also because I try to reserve the lowest rating for those rare flicks that actually harm animals or people. Not those that just seem to glorify it.

Too Short

[xxsilverrevolverxx · 8/10 · 24 May 2011]

The Secret Life of Jonathan Sky is one of those shorts that grabs you from the very beginning. It does this not through unnecessary "artsy" shots of two individuals making love or an out-of-place act of violence, but by introducing a suspiciously well dressed individual by the name of Jonathan Sky (sporting a Reservoir Dogs type tie, which should give any viewer pause) who pulls over to the side of an abandoned highway and makes up his car to appear as if it's having trouble. Our new friend then leans against his car and... waits. For what? For whom? Saying any more would spoil all the fun, and trust me when I say that the impact of Kevin Slee's newest production is best going into with a blank slate.

As you watch SLJS you'll realize that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes action that had taken place to culminate in what would make this the "climax" of the story (or the beginning, if you're creative enough). It's interesting to note that this in no way harms the sequence of events, and in fact may help it since it's so short - again, it's best to know as little as possible. Regardless, the story is straight to the point and is easy to follow going in. As the plot thickens, you'll find yourself relating with Amir Malaklou's (The Haymaker) character and situation (an understatement), because the background story between he and the beautiful Lexi Sakowitz (Election Day, Study Date) is one that almost any adolescent finds themselves envisioning in one way or another at some point in their life... fantasy or reality.

There were a couple parts that surprised me during the short 14 minutes. For one, Slee wasn't afraid to take the emotional arena to a place that is rarely seen on the student circuit - or at least in such a mature, thorough, and emotionally impacting manner. You can tell that our director, although already talented, is becoming quite the risk taker and already has no qualms in presenting the audience with some "taboo" material (I use quotes because nothing is really taboo anymore. For example, incest and abortion were once taboo subjects in the world of broadcasting... but are now explored in almost all genres of filmmaking and television broadcasting, without consequence. That's just to give you an idea of what I mean). While many viewers may have become desensitized to violence and sex due to such films as SAW and HOSTEL, the Eli Roth's and Quentin Tarantino's of Hollywood should really be looking to filmmakers such as Slee to get an idea how audiences can be affected once again.

Vijay Venkatesh and John Snyder return to compose for The Secret Life of Jonathan Sky, with slow keynotes really working to pull the viewer in and then low beats to underscore the darker parts. Music really works in a short like this, and the final product of Venkatesh and Snyder are anything but average. The main actors Sakowitz and Malaklou are decent enough, but it's the attitude that Malaklou channels in his character, reminiscent of Casey Affleck's Lou Ford in THE KILLER INSIDE ME, that REALLY gets the juices flowing. This short is worth viewing, if only because of this personage.

Everything in this short works - however, ironically enough, it's simply too short and the ending leaves something to be desired.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to spend a good 12 minutes watching an intriguing story. There's talent in Slee's shorts, and anyone who can, SHOULD jump on the bandwagon - there's something in this for everyone.

8 out of 10