Recycling Your Image
Shadow Offers an Amusing Take on Self-Help
Harold's world is unremarkable. He works in a garbage recycling plant. He eats Chinese food. He watches soap operas. So, what would make such an odd and reclusive individual a worthy subject of a short film? As with many good stories, The Shadow Effect is all about change.
Written by: Andy Schwartz & The Varava Brothers
Starring: Scoot McNairy, Ryan McPartlin, Emily Kosloski, Terence Beasor, Alexander Folk, and Chuck Carlson
Rated
Running time: 20 min.
FilmGuru's Rating : 6 out of 10.
The Shadow Effect is a short film starring Scoot McNairy as Harold, a lonesome loser whose life is a series of moments that repeat each day. Like his co-workers who sift through the garbage they recycle, he is looking for something of value to give his life meaning.
While watching his daily soap opera "Treasure Trove," he sees Dr. Stone (Emily Kosloski) advertising her patented self-help process called The Shadow Effect. Harold meets her and becomes enrolled in her plan to make over his image by emulating (or "shadowing") someone he admires. But who?
The story for The Shadow Effect is a clever one, funny and to the point. The running joke is pretty straightforward. As Harold tries to shadow a life, his attempt is one part bold and two parts pathetic. He looks like a low-rent James Bond, wearing an old prom tuxedo instead of a dinner jacket and drinking sparkling white wine out of a large measuring cup.
The film has high production values, good acting, and some memorable dialogue. The rants from Harold's co-workers about what people mistakenly think is recyclable are some of the best moments in the film.
The most interesting part of the film is McNairy's performance. At no time does he speak a line of dialogue. In fact, much of the film is silent except for the music track. Not that this is a problem. The simplicity of the story lends itself to a visual interpretation, as if this were an extended music video from the 1980s. Not a surprise when you learn that the Varava Brothers have, throughout the years, collaborated on numerous music videos.
Copyright ©2002-present by Kevin Wohler. All rights reserved.
All movie titles, images, and sounds are registered trademarks and/or copyrights of their respective holders.
Site design by Wohler Web Works.
Web hosting provided by:
