A man wakes up in a bedroom that features a walk-in wardrobe containing just four outfits. The four outfits each tell a story from his past in the short film LIFE Happens.
As we have stated many times before, we do love an independent film, albeit short or feature, that makes the viewer think. Of course, it’s great if said film is polished with excellent visuals, performance, and sound, but story is king. If a film manages to tick all the aforementioned boxes, then you’re on to a real winner. Here, with LIFE Happens, James Dubbeldam makes us think with a very well-made seven-minute short film.
A man called Martin (Jeffrey Hurst) wakes up in a large bed. The bedroom is mostly devoid of any home comforts though; no bedside lamp, no books or television sets. Just a bed, a set of drawers, one chair, and the walls painted with grey tones. There is a walk-in wardrobe, but the shelves are all empty, and a rail holds just four outfits, all hanging in a neat row.
Martin doesn’t seem confused or scared though, he seems to know where he is and what he has to do. After taking the first outfit, Martin is transported to the day of his wedding to Cynthia (Bita Paige) as seen via grainy home videos. He removes the outfit and takes a second one down. Once on, he then sees the birth of his daughter and how he wasn’t much help when it came to parental duties, leaving it to his tired and stressed wife. A third outfit takes him back to a time when his daughter (Nathalie Soto Cuzin) is a little older. She is talking to her father when his phone rings and he walks out of the room, whilst she is still mid-sentence.
It is assumed that Martin is in purgatory, and the suits represent important stages of his life, sort of like the Ghost of Christmas Past in A Christmas Carol, only there is no chance to make things better and atone for any wrongdoings here. This is the end.
This is now the third film we have managed to review by James Dubbeldam, and like the previous two, we can’t help but be in awe of his creativity, and his ability to “think outside the box” and make such thought-provoking pieces. LIFE Happens is an intelligent short film with a muted-yet-strong performance by Jeffrey Hurst. Credit also has to go to Robert Ballmaier for his rather haunting score. It kind of reminded us of the score used by Spike Jonze in his masterpiece HER by Arcade Fire, and if that is not a compliment, then I’m not sure what is.
With a few awards to its name already, we wouldn’t be surprised if LIFE Happens goes on to win many more should it feature in future festivals. Recommended.
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