Obsession and voyeurism go hand in hand when your mind is unsettled, but for a Marine reject they are essential tools in Henry Scriven‘s TO A CINDER.
Based on a graphic novel by David Taylor, TO A CINDER is the story of Paul (Elliot Warren), who is assigned by Gustav (Bill Ward), to watch over Eleanor (Rosalind Halstead) incognito from a vantage point across the street from her ground floor flat. Paul is given strict instructions not to blow his cover, but as he watches he witnesses a variety of characters seemingly part of Eleanor’s world become as obsessive about being around her as he is, prompting all manner of brooding hate and jealousy in his bid to carry out his mission.
Pretty soon, the resistance becomes futile and Paul has to emerge into the open to try and fulfil his mission, even if it means breaching the original requirements….
Concise, very well-worked and twisted noir that switches mood and intent halfway through, making a social comment about the nature of male-v-female dynamics in the modern world. The film starts out a bit like Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW with Warren looking across the road at Halstead, but evolves into the realm of SHALLOW GRAVE and WILD THINGS for the latter half which skewers audience belief and expectations as it moves towards the climax.
In a market when the desire to bombard audiences with spectacular imagery and ideas, TO A CINDER relies on old-fashioned gradual development and set-up to build to a very satisfying conclusion in a film that clocks in well under ninety minutes, at a time when most movies in length are crying out to be at least half an hour shorter in terms of audience attention span.
The London Independent Film Festival runs from 14th – 23rd April 2023.
For tickets, please go to:
https://genesiscinema.co.uk/GenesisCinema.dll/WhatsOn?pg=4&sp=4
For information about the Festival, please go to:
