source: In This Gray Place

I could have understood if this film started in a bedroom between two lovers and she says shes pregnant and they're going to be a family and he says he loves her and will always be there for them, together......and then fast forward to the delivery room just after the birth and all the joy and beauty and love and family. Then skip to the rest stop bathroom scene where he is metaphorically going thru all the fear and pain and uncertainty that can befall a young man/couple with a newborn child.....which could cut that part down to about 15 minutes max....where you think this guy actually robbed someone and perhaps killed a cop, but then he wakes up next to her in their home in bed and the last part was just a scarey dream and they both reassure each other of their love blah blah blah. Now that might have got an extra star, but the way the film played out I kept wanting some twist like that but all I got was a bunch of incoherent rant for 1-1/2 hours and fast cut editing that nearly made me seasick. I still gave 5 stars which to me puts this at barely watchable. Sorry.

This film start with a guy "Aaron" lock himself in an unknown toilet! As turnout, this film is about Aaron bargaining with a so called Lieutenant Arnold to let him bury the jewelry he rob before he surrender! The only reason the police don't break in the toilet is because Aaron pretending he taken his own wife "Laura" as a hostage! Entire film full of Aaron talking in the phone with several person scene! Bored to freaking death! Is this film shot by a student as a school project? Low quality like this! Pathetic! I think nowadays any people can make movie already after watching this pathetic film! Aaron keep talking how he love his wife in the phone by stealing things to provide for his wife! His wife keep saying she don't want it but instead she already know! So this mean she already taking her husband money before! Ridiculous argument! His wife keep asking Aaron where her brother "Elijah", but Aaron keep avoid to answer! Another freaking boring thing is, keep showing slow flashback scene of Aaron with his wife! The police already throw the tear gas inside the toilet but still never saw the police break in the toilet! Big spoiler ahead! Elijah actually already kill by Aaron at the jewelry shop after Elijah unnecessarily kill the shop owner! At the end, the so called SWAT team take down Aaron with a empty bullet! Lol! What a boring and wasting time to watch movie! Bravo!(Obviously I'm mocking it!)

I rated 7, even though my friends wouldn't give even 3. It is really great Movie...if only you assume that the whole room and all characters are the result of one person's imagination. The whole set up is a mental projection, blocks that we create in our heads. We stuck, procrastinate and it's difficult to get us out there. This Movie is exactly about this. Did you notice that there were no real people except main character, we saw recollections of memories but did not see those people in real action. His Girlfriend were appearing as a memory and projection, his friends and etc. Only Policemen at the end, as a Symbol of outside intervention to help that guy to get out his mental blocks (which can be depression, disease, etc.) Once you view from here, the Movie makes big sense but if just as a sequence of events that really were happening, it is a disaster Movie.

There's some great thing about this film, some bad things, and a ton in-between. Let's talk the technical execution first. The movie has powerful music, great camera work, the editing is top notch and actually brings a lot of personality, and I'm even going to say the premise is pretty cool, especially the twist at the end. I'm not a big fan of the poetic stuff. Feels kinda forced. But I do like how the idea of destiny keeps popping up. As if destiny is something inevitable, just like it's inevitable how the movie is going to end. There really isn't any other way out. Another thing. It's a standoff movie. He shoots at the cops so I understand they wouldn't go in guns blazing, but after the tear gas it would be all over. I understand most people thinks cops just shoot to kill when in fact they would want to breach safely hence the negotiator, but c'mon! 1 tear gas can and the whole thing would be done. Overall the idea of having a single location movie is pretty tough. You get a sense of claustrophobia for sure, but after a while it does start to get old. The acting was pretty spot on throughout but there were a few rough patches here and there. The director uses flashbacks to keep us interested which mostly works but from time to time it can also feel monotonous. For being a no budget independent film I think there's a lot here to be applauded. There are a couple of really amazing scenes but they are scattered too thin in my good. Solid effort for a indie movie.

At first, I appreciate the director's attempt to create a very poetic and philosophical themed movie. Even I think he was successful in making such illusional atmospheres about certain emotions of human life. Another noticible thing was he divided the movie into certain chapters, using philosophical terms like life, water, air (At a time it felt like a referrence to Avatar cartoon series 😂). But what was lacking was some logical writing; some missing steps from the ladder. When Aaron kills his lover's brother for attempting to shoot the shopowner, it seemed incredible. Even when he later describes how desperate he was to plan for this robbery which is now almost costing him his life, just for helping her girlfriend out didn't seem reasonable enough. And the flexible behaviour of the defence forces made the script weak. The cinematography and the editing was good, I really enjoyed that I got to say. Acting seemed quite satisfactory.

My first impression after seeing In This Grey Place was how refreshing it is to see new ideas from independent filmmakers. Personally, I appreciate films, and artwork in general, that give me some insight into the personality of the creator... and this film is full of personality. The creators managed to tackle a deep topic without over complicating the plot and the quality of the acting held my attention throughout the entire film. The director's perspective on how to tell this particular story was interesting also. What better way to tell a story of someone in a mental conundrum than to also trap them physically! I recommend this film to anyone looking to be entertained by fresh ideas.

Firstly by no means do I think this movie is perfect. It's biggest problem is the pacing which is way, way too slow. Even if they cut out just 10 minutes the whole thing would be a lot more entertaining. It also feels a bit inconsistent at times. The acting is really good but sometimes over the top, the mood is very tense except a few times where it drags, and there are some genuinely beautiful moments that get undercut by some gross moments. All that said there's quite a lot to sink your teeth into. The director really shows off a lot and uses a lot of filmmaking techniques that aren't commonplace in movies anymore. Like there is a whole scene that is built around the sounds in the bathroom which makes Aaron go a little crazy, and it gets cut off when Aaron kills the lights. There's also a lot of dream sequences and flashback that show what happened and give you information piece by piece which means you have to pay attention to details. Also there's a lot of philosophical talk that rounds out what Aaron and his girlfriend are experiencing on a subconscious level. I could have done without all of the swearing. I get that he's a criminal but it can be overwhelming. There's some great writing splattered throughout so I know they could have done without the language. What gets me about this movie is how unabashed an unapologetic it is when it comes to the artsy stuff. From the first moment we hear poetic narration, to the last action scene when we should have an intense climax but instead we get flowers popping through the walls. While some of it works and some doesn't it's not something you see every day and kind of refreshing when all we get now are reboots and superhero movies.

It's funny how two people can watch the same film and come away having two completely views on what they just watched. Me: it was a haunting and beautiful love story with perfect music, and stunning cinematography. It was a story that dealt with boundless love, deep regrets and desperation. My husband: it was about a guy stuck in a bathroom for two hours.