The Audition Review
The Audition is a 2019 short film written and directed by Kit Loyd.
The Audition is a funny and charming short that invites us into the somewhat absurd world of main character Phil that delivers on laughs and a genuinely heartwarming conclusion.
If you are even a passing fan of shows such as The Office or Parks and Recreation, then you will enjoy this little film. The mockumentary styling is very much on display here, to great effect.
With this being a small focused piece the entire short depends on the range of lead character Phil as portrayed by Phil Tomlin, which safe to say delivers on wonderfully. Tomlin in his portrayal of this character brings a powerful presence with plenty of charm and nuance. Not that supporting character Paul, portrayed by Kit Loyd, doesn’t also bring anything to the table which he does so brilliantly too.
With such a small crew at play for this piece, it is quite an achievement that everything from a technical standpoint comes together and it does. The cinematography by Dan Burgess is strong, especially in the beautiful lighting for the interview segments. They are such a stark difference from the actual audition arc of the story as far as visual fidelity I was not expecting the film to take a mockumentary style turn at all.
That leaves the one tiny observation in the very introduction of the film. This is a very minor detail, but it feels as if the cutaway footage takes a beat or two too long to arrive in the film. It at first reads as just maybe a film wherein our lead is taking a direct address to the camera for the entirety before we jump to where most of the film will take place.
Outside of that though everything else here shines and again with such a small crew at play there are a lot of great things, this short achieves. Mainly because echoed in the story which fleshes out both leading characters and brings some gravitas to them by the end. It is hard enough to see one arc in a story from a character, but ending the film on a sweet note for each adds a loving touch to the conclusion of the piece.
To follow on social media: Kit Loyd, Dan Burgess, and Phil Tomlin.
Cheers!
Daniel Hess
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