"Allison" Makes A Deep Dive into the Fragility of Relationships
James Scott
Allison is a contemplative short film that explores the nature of uneven relationships with effective writing and talented performances.
Our understanding of love is wild and unfinished; there's still so many complex factors which elude us. We want our relationships to be healthy but often times they end up being reflections of our unacknowledged flaws. They are fragile; we are fragile. These issues and more are the subjects of director David Lester's Alison, which focuses on a relationship that's fraying at the edges. Careful but sharp at the same time, Alison brings to mind a lot of other films dealing with love while maintaining its own unique flavor. This is in …show more content…
Turner's performance here is his strongest of the film. Voice wavering but still coming through, the little song he sings permeates the miasma of Jason's care-taking instincts to reveal that, beneath everything, he's conflicted. It obvious he loves Alison but how long can love sustain a relationship where one party is always cleaning up after the other? Alison asks the difficult questions but there are no answers. There's only the lilting sound of Turner's voice singing a difficult lullaby to Alison as she falls asleep.
The final scenes of Alison are simple but emotionally impactful. They echo with the feeling of mystery and to watch them feels almost voyeuristic. It feels like we shouldn't be watching what's going on. Yet we must watch; we have to see the crumbling of Jason's strength as a care-taker in order to understand the toll the relationship takes on him. But we also need to see Alison comforting him so that we might glimpse some hope for their future as a couple. It isn't a grim note to end on. It's a hopeful one.
Alison was released in 2016 and runs 12 minutes long. The film was an official selection at Calgary International Film Festival, NSI International Film Festival, Victoria International Film Festival and Lakeshore International Short Film Festival. It was also a Vimeo Staff
James Scott
Allison is a contemplative short film that explores the nature of uneven relationships with effective writing and talented performances.
Our understanding of love is wild and unfinished; there's still so many complex factors which elude us. We want our relationships to be healthy but often times they end up being reflections of our unacknowledged flaws. They are fragile; we are fragile. These issues and more are the subjects of director David Lester's Alison, which focuses on a relationship that's fraying at the edges. Careful but sharp at the same time, Alison brings to mind a lot of other films dealing with love while maintaining its own unique flavor. This is in …show more content…
Turner's performance here is his strongest of the film. Voice wavering but still coming through, the little song he sings permeates the miasma of Jason's care-taking instincts to reveal that, beneath everything, he's conflicted. It obvious he loves Alison but how long can love sustain a relationship where one party is always cleaning up after the other? Alison asks the difficult questions but there are no answers. There's only the lilting sound of Turner's voice singing a difficult lullaby to Alison as she falls asleep.
The final scenes of Alison are simple but emotionally impactful. They echo with the feeling of mystery and to watch them feels almost voyeuristic. It feels like we shouldn't be watching what's going on. Yet we must watch; we have to see the crumbling of Jason's strength as a care-taker in order to understand the toll the relationship takes on him. But we also need to see Alison comforting him so that we might glimpse some hope for their future as a couple. It isn't a grim note to end on. It's a hopeful one.
Alison was released in 2016 and runs 12 minutes long. The film was an official selection at Calgary International Film Festival, NSI International Film Festival, Victoria International Film Festival and Lakeshore International Short Film Festival. It was also a Vimeo Staff