CIFF - Black Box. Don't go looking for it.

So far, two of the films I was excited to see have been utterly disappointing. Accident was the first. Black Box is the second.

Again, another great premise and even a novel hooky cinematography approach. And again, epic fail.

It drags. It lags. It sags.

It's a great idea to utilize security camera footage as a technique to add a level of realism to your film. When you use it for 45 or more straight minutes, your film goes flat.

Sterile.

Innocuous.

You can add a dash of realism with this technique, but you can't grab the subject by the collar and get up in his or her emotional face so they can bleed, sweat and cry in the face of the audience. The ethical conundrums presented in the film looked more like characters glitching in a video game than humans dealing with essential life truths. And one more point about the security camera technique: We all know that in real life there aren't security cameras every 5 feet covering every possible angle and even fewer arranged for closeups on couches! Honestly!

A dying man is conned into murdering someone so his family can have financial security after he is gone. That's really about it for plot synopsis. The ensuing 60 minutes is watching his ethical wrestling match with the man who has conned him. Both making good points. The conned man finally decides to face his own death rather than murder another human. The only question remaining is will his death be a suicide or a murder.

I can't bear to relate any more of this to you. If you want a synopsis, go here.

This film: D (not an F because it was after all a good idea)