The Letter Review

The Letter is a 2020 film written and directed by Jonathan Louis Lewis.

A surreal sound scape washed in blue paints, The Letter which pushes past a slow start to a satisfying conclusion.

The one conceit that can be leveraged with the film is that the introduction to the film takes a bit long to jump forward for a film that clocks in around seven minutes in length. However, once you are past these small nitpicks things do flow quite nicely.

The strongest aspect of the short by far has to be the score provided by Akosa Ibekwe, who creates something that is unsettling and memorable. The music and design of the score both work in tandem with one another throughout.

The main actors of the piece Mary O’ Neil and Travis Robinson turn in solid performances. Mary O’ Neil gets to steal the show with having the juicier material to pull from, but Travis Robinson honestly gave a really believable turn in playing just a husband character. Something that usually gets pushed to the background but was personally a pleasant touch for the piece.

The decision to tint the film in a bright blue color scheme was another area that took a second to stick but after a little while it flowed nicely with the semi surreal style of the narrative. The sporadic editing also helped things flow nicely.

While not a film for everyone and relying on an ending that some may either enjoy or loathe The Letter is still a solid short film to check out. Lewis and his team have displayed a bold and unique style that within certain narrative structures will be exciting to see and one that they should continue to experiment with more.

To follow on social media: Website, Instagram, and IMDB.

Cheers!

Daniel Hess

Film Festival and Award Highlights:

Nominated for Best Original Concept, Best Sound and Best Music – Independent Horror Movie Awards 2020

Official Selection – Bitesize Film Festival 2021

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