Thoughts and Prayers short film review
★★★
Directed by: Christopher Logan
Written by: Christopher Logan
Starring: Andrea Rosolia, Beverley Breuer, Kyle Charles Gannon, Adiam Haddish Asrat
,,Film Review by: ,,Jason Knight
Mobile devices are everywhere today. People use them for a variety of reasons, including communication.
A man is going out to do some shopping. He carries a tablet computer with him and he uses it in a rather…unusual manner. When he encounters someone, after they walk away from him, he uses his tablet to send messages to them, even though they are strangers and do not appear to be carrying a device themselves! For instance, when he accidentally bumps into a woman, she forgives him and as she leaves. In response he says kind words addressed to her, which he also ‘sends’ to her with the tablet! In another scene, a man is rude to him, so he shouts insults at him and ‘sends’ them to him!
This short drama is an interesting look into how technological devices influence people these days. It seems to imply that they believe that in order for actions to have meaning, even spoken words, then they have to be done and communicated through computers (eg social media).
The final scene though sends a rather different message. It appears to be a life-or-death situation and the man attempts to provide assistance to the person in danger by sending them ‘messages through the tablet’. It does not work. This scene seems to point out that although these devices are very useful, they cannot take care of every problem.
Prior to the last scene, the tone of the film is quite joyful. The man is smartly dressed, smiles a lot and gives the impression that he is happy. He is polite and seems to want to get along with everybody. And the music is tender and sweet.
The performances are rather good. The main character is believable as a man who looks at the bright side of life and the supporting cast act well.
The film is well directed and the sound effects that are heard when the man uses his tablet are effective.
Thoughts and Prayers is quite short but it carries a strong message: that people cannot count on mobile devices to take care of every problem.
#JasonKnight
