Seven Fishes Review
Seven Fishes is a 2020 short film written by Ali Keller and directed by Jaclyn Gramigna.
A short that subverts expectations with a bittersweet conclusion, Seven Fishes draws to a natural conclusion, but is ultimately missing something that is quite hard to pinpoint.
To dive right into the point made in the opening paragraph there seems to be one element that this film needed in the story that just wasn’t present. This is a strangely frustrating question because it is hard to fault something without being able to understand what it is that is wrong, but it just feels like we needed one more element in the piece to really round it out.
The film itself though is made with high production value in mind. The visuals from cinematographer Caitlin Machak are strong throughout the piece which is complimented by the amazing wardrobe work in the piece as well.
The sound, outside of a harder mix at the very beginning where the holiday song felt like it was washing out the dialogue, was well mixed here too.
The acting from all the leads is strong, with Sondra James as Nonna stealing the screen on her scenes. The entire family dynamic feels believable and the chemistry of everyone is very natural. A great representation of the organized chaos that is any holiday family get together.
The ending, which won’t be spoiled here, hits very hard, so much so in fact that it almost feels pulled out of the page of a completely different genre of film. The effects are beautiful done, and very detailed but it would have perhaps served better to build up the tension of this reveal, rather than the intense shock of it all.
The ending is divisive here for that reason, this is where the question of something more is needed most. Seven Fishes definitely have a great group of creators behind it, the storytelling is clean leading up to the last moments and presents something that is instantly relatable.
To follow on social media: Seven Fishes – Instagram and Facebook
Ali Keller – Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Website
Jaclyn Gramigna – Instagram, LinkedIn and Website
Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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