Choir Girl Review

Choir Girl is a 2019 feature film written and directed by John Fraser.

A dark and brooding black and white feature that doesn’t hold back from its seedy underbelly, Choir Girl may not be for the faint of heart, but it delivers a solid dramatic narrative.

While not perfect, this feature certainly delivers a fairly streamlined narrative that knows when to up the danger and intrigue. Where things falter a bit is towards the latter half of the second act, where even with the stakes being raised, it feels a touch repetitive.

Having a main character who is as awkward and quiet as the one we are presented there is a constant uphill battle to keep him likable. This makes for an instant handicap from the very beginning, as from an outside quick glance you have all those poor preconceived notions that come with it all. Even though the film does a good job at addressing these, it just makes for someone that falls into a gray area, which usually would be a good thing, but here just doesn’t quite hit the mark.

From a technical side, the black and white cinematography is beautiful. From start to finish, it is used to such impressive effect and makes each scene really strong. Lovely work all around.

Beyond that, though, one of the less technically sound elements would have to fall on the audio mixing. Some scenes just stay too quiet, while others, with the score in particular, a bit overpowered. It was something that crept up just enough to be noticeable.

As mentioned earlier, the story revolves around a crime infested area and this dark atmosphere makes its way into most of the film with scenes that don’t hold back, culminating in a really powerful but in the same vein tough to watch rape that will leave you wanting to take a long cold shower afterwards. This is a testament to the ability of the filmmakers to deliver powerful and poignant moments.

Despite being a bit rough around the edges, Choir Girl is still worth a viewing, particularly for those who enjoy dark mystery thriller films. It might not be for everyone, given the explicit content, but the strong visuals and solid acting certainly elevate it beyond what you might typically find on a Friday night peruse through your Netflix catalogue.

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Cheers!

Daniel Hess

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