Tag: Sarah Nerbose


Emoticon ;)

May 22nd, 2014 — 6:10am

****

Emoticon ;)- sp Screen Shot 2014-05-21 at 10.27.30 PM– It is very exciting to see a small, low budget film successfully get it’s point across in an excellent movie. In this case Livia DePaolis a young actress, co-wrote the screenplay with then film student Sarah Nerbose. Ms. Depaolis also produced and directed as well as star in it. She was able to get veteran actor Michael Cristofer to co-star with her as well as bring in Carol Kane, Sonia Braga and excellent teenage actors, Miles Chandler, Allie Gallerani, Charlie Solis, Sydney Morton and Alesandra Socah. The film examines various aspects of family relationships in a contemporary upper class New York City. It also uses the prism of modern day social media to help the viewer see everyday happenings as the characters might very well been doing. Elena is a single 33 year old graduate student who has a relationship with Walter who is a 64 year old divorced man with two adopted teenage children to whom she becomes connected. The kid’s struggle with their own identity both sexual and racial, as well as Elena relationship with them and her own examination of her feelings about having her own children are all opened up for viewing. The filmmaker appeared to be using Elena’s graduate school thesis as metaphor for this movie. It is that the wide spread use of social media is so much a part of human relationships it actually changes them. From our point of view the movie didn’t need this approach. The characters all had depth and showed complexity, growth and change. The story stood on it’s own and we felt the use of social media was almost incidental. The characters could have just as well been talking on the telephone instead of on Facebook but it was a clever and original perspective none-the-less. We look towards a very bright career for the talented Ms. DePaolis. (2014)

Comment » | 4 Stars, Drama

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