The death of a world-renowned actress brings together a group of fellow performers to mourn her passing, yet each one may have contributed to her death in the short mockumentary #RIP. Review after the jump.
It has to be said, Screen Critix loves a good mockumentary. From classic films like This is Spinal Tap and Best in Show, to the British television gem The Office; we love them all. So it was with great pleasure to be given the opportunity to watch and review #RIP.
Written and produced by Kevin Machate, the short mockumentary #RIP sees a bunch of actors and wannabes gather to mourn the loss of Lydia Walters – a famous actress who had an attitude problem. Each mourner had a connection with the deceased, such as supporting her in productions, her agent, her former lover and so on. With flashbacks, we get to see the story leading up to her death. The film then turns into a whodunit mystery with comedic elements.
Think of it as like Drop Dead Gorgeous meets An Inspector Calls.
The jokes in #RIP come in thick and fast, some deadpan and some slapstick. Some work, some don’t, but all in all, the film is humorous.
What are in abundance though are the excellent performances from the cast. Each character is different from the others and the actors make the role their own. I was especially impressed with the performance of Naomi Grossman as Bella Tiavas – a Spanish actress with attitude. Her subtitles lines were funny and she really got stuck in, showing aggression and anger aplomb. The film has recently won an award for ‘Best Assemble’ at the Houston Comedy Film Festival, and it’s easy to see why.
The film is slickly made, with nice use of camera angles, fine grading and decent audio. It’s easy to see that a lot of effort has been put in to make #RIP and Kevin Machate and his crew need applauding. As does Roanna Flowers for her screenplay.
I enjoyed #RIP and I’m sure it will do well on the festival circuits. If it’s playing near you, go check it out. Let’s hope Kevin Machate continues to make more great short (or feature) films.
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