Dave2112
Level of Cherry Feather
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2001
- Messages
- 10,294
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Ok, it's 1 am, and I'm in front of my computer in no small amount of pain from today's dental experience...and I just can't sleep. I've seen a film that has actually affected me. Deeply.
It's out on DVD now. It's called Series 7. The premise is simple. Taking the current dubious fascination with reality TV one step further, a game show called "The Contenders" takes 6 people and pits them against each other. An elderly man, an almost-retired nurse, a teenage girl, an unemployed father(?), a man with terminal cancer and a woman who is the returning champion...and nine months pregnant to boot. But, rather than try to outlast each other on an island or resist temptation with each other, they must kill each other. And it's all sanctioned and legal. Oh, and one other thing...
...you can't refuse to play.
What sets this film apart right from the start is the style it is filmed in. It's just like watching an episode of COPS, with cameramen following the protagonists throughout the game. The set-up is that you are watching a marathon of the 7th series of the wildly popular show. The advertisements and clips in between the segments are handed out as if the whole concept were just another part of Americana.
The acting is better than anything I've seen in such a small independant film for some time. All unknowns, so there's no distraction as your mind tries to accept Julia Roberts as a killer. These are just ordinary people. The pregnant participant, played by Brooke Smith, is reminiscent of watching Heather Donohue in Blair Witch...except she can really act. The unfolding story lines between the characters are engrossing, from the doting parents of the teenage girl following her around as if she were going to camp ("Don't forget to take the safety off, honey"), to the cancer-stricken individual who tries to manipulate a former lover and fellow player to kill him...as the rules forbid suicide.
The reactions of the background people to all of this are similar to that of the world introduced to us in The Running Man, but without the safe veil of science-fiction. Folks are calling police, trying to get on TV for their fifteen minutes alongside the bloodshed...all in our own backyards.
An interesting scene involves the elderly nurse going to confession. She tells the priest her sins...taking the Lord's name in vain, cheating, etc. but never mentioning the fact that she just killed one of the contestants in cold blood while he was helpless. It's just accepted that it's part of the game, and therefore alright. It can't be a sin if it's sponsored by Pepsi, can it?
I don't want to give too much more away. The ending is worthy of the build-up, smacking of governmental and advertising cover-up and conspiracy. The actor portraying the game's representative reminded me of every one of those idiots from Temptation Island or Survivor. You know the type...the whole smarmy attitute of "Let's show America how miserable we can make you....and smile!" If you like film that makes a statement, do yourself a favor and give Series 7 a try.
But...
...let me warn you. This film is intense. There are no special effects to give you a feeling of safety, the kind you feel when you know that a few million went into making that explosion look real. It all looks real, by virtue of its very simplicity. There were parts of this film that brought a tear to my eye, parts that made me almost sick, and parts that caused rage to well up inside of me, knowing that we may not be all that far from something like this happening. In fact, the writer/director of Series 7 tells in the documentary portion of the DVD how he once pitched a rough cut of this film as a pilot for an actual reality show to a network.
He was asked if he could make it sexier.
So, if you want to see something that will stick with you for a while and really make you think, rent this. The unknowns turn in wonderful performances, the plots and sub-plots are engaging and the reality is easy to get lost in. But be warned, this is not for the squeamish. It is extremely disturbing in parts...but in a way that a movie trying to make a statement should be. This has "cult classic" written all over it.
😎
It's out on DVD now. It's called Series 7. The premise is simple. Taking the current dubious fascination with reality TV one step further, a game show called "The Contenders" takes 6 people and pits them against each other. An elderly man, an almost-retired nurse, a teenage girl, an unemployed father(?), a man with terminal cancer and a woman who is the returning champion...and nine months pregnant to boot. But, rather than try to outlast each other on an island or resist temptation with each other, they must kill each other. And it's all sanctioned and legal. Oh, and one other thing...
...you can't refuse to play.
What sets this film apart right from the start is the style it is filmed in. It's just like watching an episode of COPS, with cameramen following the protagonists throughout the game. The set-up is that you are watching a marathon of the 7th series of the wildly popular show. The advertisements and clips in between the segments are handed out as if the whole concept were just another part of Americana.
The acting is better than anything I've seen in such a small independant film for some time. All unknowns, so there's no distraction as your mind tries to accept Julia Roberts as a killer. These are just ordinary people. The pregnant participant, played by Brooke Smith, is reminiscent of watching Heather Donohue in Blair Witch...except she can really act. The unfolding story lines between the characters are engrossing, from the doting parents of the teenage girl following her around as if she were going to camp ("Don't forget to take the safety off, honey"), to the cancer-stricken individual who tries to manipulate a former lover and fellow player to kill him...as the rules forbid suicide.
The reactions of the background people to all of this are similar to that of the world introduced to us in The Running Man, but without the safe veil of science-fiction. Folks are calling police, trying to get on TV for their fifteen minutes alongside the bloodshed...all in our own backyards.
An interesting scene involves the elderly nurse going to confession. She tells the priest her sins...taking the Lord's name in vain, cheating, etc. but never mentioning the fact that she just killed one of the contestants in cold blood while he was helpless. It's just accepted that it's part of the game, and therefore alright. It can't be a sin if it's sponsored by Pepsi, can it?
I don't want to give too much more away. The ending is worthy of the build-up, smacking of governmental and advertising cover-up and conspiracy. The actor portraying the game's representative reminded me of every one of those idiots from Temptation Island or Survivor. You know the type...the whole smarmy attitute of "Let's show America how miserable we can make you....and smile!" If you like film that makes a statement, do yourself a favor and give Series 7 a try.
But...
...let me warn you. This film is intense. There are no special effects to give you a feeling of safety, the kind you feel when you know that a few million went into making that explosion look real. It all looks real, by virtue of its very simplicity. There were parts of this film that brought a tear to my eye, parts that made me almost sick, and parts that caused rage to well up inside of me, knowing that we may not be all that far from something like this happening. In fact, the writer/director of Series 7 tells in the documentary portion of the DVD how he once pitched a rough cut of this film as a pilot for an actual reality show to a network.
He was asked if he could make it sexier.
So, if you want to see something that will stick with you for a while and really make you think, rent this. The unknowns turn in wonderful performances, the plots and sub-plots are engaging and the reality is easy to get lost in. But be warned, this is not for the squeamish. It is extremely disturbing in parts...but in a way that a movie trying to make a statement should be. This has "cult classic" written all over it.
😎
