James: Research

I was researching short films on ‘YouTube’, after watching a variety of films I found a short film called ‘The Plan’. The film is four minutes forty two seconds long, and seems to be rather popular on the website, it has received good reviews.

‘The Plan’ was written and directed by Matthew Kalish in 2008, and is said to be award winning.

The film is an action drama, it begins with a voiceover. A man is describing his life and what he wishes to change about it. He decides to quit his job, leave his girlfriend and migrate to Las Vegas with all the money he possesses. His plan is to bet all of his money on ‘Red’, on a roulette table. It would appear that the man is bored with the direction that his life is heading and wants to try something new. As the film is in black and white, the focus is on the action and what is being said rather than the surroundings of the film. The man then meets a girl; the conversation between the two of them is not polite and is very brief. He then takes a picture of her but she isn’t impressed. She takes the camera from him and runs away; as he chases her she is capturing the event on his camera. He then loses track of where she has gone, gets in his car and reassures himself of his plan to ‘Vegas’. Once arriving he puts all of his money into one game and loses it all. His ex-girlfriend is continually calling him throughout the film, however he ignores each call. He finally answers the phone to her he notices a picture, instantly hanging up the phone he walks towards it. It’s from his camera and is of him chasing the girl. He picks it up and a message is written on the reverse side, simply saying “Now we’re even” followed by her address and name.

The film is initiating that sometimes in life you need to take a gamble. By taking a step back from his original routines he discovers there is a lot more to be seen and achieved in the world. The film also has connotations of ‘fate’ as it would appear the man lost his money for a reason but still won the heart of the girl.
The target audience for this film would be of both genders but from young adults to middle aged. This film would appeal to a younger audience because it shows how life can be and that by taking it into your own hands anything can happen.