The final copy for Little White Lie's review
Joanna White captures an original and believable hormonal teenaged romance, but concentrates on the depressing side of life. So much for reminiscing the celebration of being young! Whilst the tagline ‘The Boy. The Girl. The Letter’ doesn’t leave much to the imagination; this film is filled with ambition, creativity and authenticity. White displays an impressive array of ideas, which is somehow matched by All my love’s visual beauty and narrative ingenuity.
The story is based on a teenaged girl (Amie Nelms) who reads a letter from ex-boyfriend (Richard Franklin). She’s overwhelmed by latent grief, anguish and betrayal whilst accompanied by his haunting presence. As the film unfolds, Amie moves through poignant moments of anger, frustration and sadness to ponder on her demise. She finally breaks through the emotional trauma and decides to move on from their failed relationship.
Despite the Jeremy Kyle inspired plot, some painstakingly long takes dwell on Amie’s fragility and solitary nature. Her sullen facial expressions reflect the disappointment of her sudden ‘singledom’ status. Whereas, Nelms’ performance is overshadowed by Franklins’, she still manages to maintain her ground, allowing her taciturnity to contribute towards this affectionate slow paced drama. The iconic extreme long shot of Amie walking into the far distance symbolises the triumphs of female empowerment. Whilst writing the film’s script, White declared her desire to break the stereotypical conceptions of femininity. So, a genuine sense of achievement is certainly portrayed through Nelms’ character- making all the single ladies beam with ecstasy.
Franklin’s performance is mainly reflected through his emotive dialogue, expressing his regret and misfortune. However, this vague narrative device creates some confusion over his unnoticed identity at the beginning of the film. “I know that my death will have done this,” sulks Rich whilst trying to comfort his girl- hard task when you’re a ghost! The unknown causes of their deteriorated relationship and Rich’s death remain a complete mystery, but no need to bother Sherlock Holmes, Amie seems content with her loss.
The real and the unreal are here integrated as never before, White’s use of green screen appears slightly erratic as ambitious visuals create poor quality. Clear distinctions of the characters and the background cause a bit of a let down to the human eye. Nonetheless, the power of inventiveness and willingness allow you to overlook this minor blip.
The rich black and white cinematography seems partly clichéd in its symbolic pessimistic values, but an expressionistic aura allows the baffling enjoyment of certain glumness. Finally, the resolution is best described as the dramatic climax. The gradual fading in of colour breaths sudden life into All my love’s visuals and satisfies the audience with some sort of closure.
White believes ‘All my love’ introduces a ‘wonderful breath of fresh air’ into social realism as it intertwines romance, realism and fantasy into a spellbinding short film. The five minute drama seems to glamorise depression as certain sequences involving the young couple are plagued with unnecessary moodiness. So in the words of Amie, I think we ‘need to move on.’
Emma Robertson
Joanna White captures an original and believable hormonal teenaged romance, but concentrates on the depressing side of life. So much for reminiscing the celebration of being young! Whilst the tagline ‘The Boy. The Girl. The Letter’ doesn’t leave much to the imagination; this film is filled with ambition, creativity and authenticity. White displays an impressive array of ideas, which is somehow matched by All my love’s visual beauty and narrative ingenuity.
The story is based on a teenaged girl (Amie Nelms) who reads a letter from ex-boyfriend (Richard Franklin). She’s overwhelmed by latent grief, anguish and betrayal whilst accompanied by his haunting presence. As the film unfolds, Amie moves through poignant moments of anger, frustration and sadness to ponder on her demise. She finally breaks through the emotional trauma and decides to move on from their failed relationship.
Despite the Jeremy Kyle inspired plot, some painstakingly long takes dwell on Amie’s fragility and solitary nature. Her sullen facial expressions reflect the disappointment of her sudden ‘singledom’ status. Whereas, Nelms’ performance is overshadowed by Franklins’, she still manages to maintain her ground, allowing her taciturnity to contribute towards this affectionate slow paced drama. The iconic extreme long shot of Amie walking into the far distance symbolises the triumphs of female empowerment. Whilst writing the film’s script, White declared her desire to break the stereotypical conceptions of femininity. So, a genuine sense of achievement is certainly portrayed through Nelms’ character- making all the single ladies beam with ecstasy.
Franklin’s performance is mainly reflected through his emotive dialogue, expressing his regret and misfortune. However, this vague narrative device creates some confusion over his unnoticed identity at the beginning of the film. “I know that my death will have done this,” sulks Rich whilst trying to comfort his girl- hard task when you’re a ghost! The unknown causes of their deteriorated relationship and Rich’s death remain a complete mystery, but no need to bother Sherlock Holmes, Amie seems content with her loss.
The real and the unreal are here integrated as never before, White’s use of green screen appears slightly erratic as ambitious visuals create poor quality. Clear distinctions of the characters and the background cause a bit of a let down to the human eye. Nonetheless, the power of inventiveness and willingness allow you to overlook this minor blip.
The rich black and white cinematography seems partly clichéd in its symbolic pessimistic values, but an expressionistic aura allows the baffling enjoyment of certain glumness. Finally, the resolution is best described as the dramatic climax. The gradual fading in of colour breaths sudden life into All my love’s visuals and satisfies the audience with some sort of closure.
White believes ‘All my love’ introduces a ‘wonderful breath of fresh air’ into social realism as it intertwines romance, realism and fantasy into a spellbinding short film. The five minute drama seems to glamorise depression as certain sequences involving the young couple are plagued with unnecessary moodiness. So in the words of Amie, I think we ‘need to move on.’
Emma Robertson
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