Manhattan Folds

I find myself in the mood for watching a piece of work clearly illustrating the qualities of an auteur. This is how I approach JP's short film, which easily stands alone sturdily. I've admired the director's past work, Doom 2 being 2002's indefinite gem. Having read reviews only partially praising JP's underrated work I decided to sit down to some afternoon entertainment. What I got was by no means dull or indeed disappointing. Clearly where low scores have malnourished the film's reputation is the direct product of feelings of departure on JP's part, and its good to see he himself has addressed this in his director's notes.

As a director, JP handles the narrative and directorial task as seemingly fluidly as his Doom series, boasting top notch methods and skills putting theoretical methods of filmmaking to good use. Shots often tilted at angles the movement of which we never see thanks to some very tangible editing techniques. The sound editing accompanying the sequence in which Fr. Manhattan opens the door on the 9mm reeks of effortless cool, the film following suit by honouring degree rules and continuity guidelines. It's surprising to see then that MF becomes somewhat entwined, not so much in its own incompetence but rather an inability to continue, reaching a point where it is unsure how to tell the story without leaving gaping holes here and there. This isnt JP's fault wholely, but sadly responsibility wasn't taken for the stumble and ultimately the film suffers for the setback. Coupled with its status as a short film means that it is difficult to emphasise with the events. This is only heightened further by an abundance of sideshow characters that were not entirely necessary (Goro's cameo, while pleasant seemed only to detract from the action).

Visually, MF stands tall with Doom, JP stamping his auteuristic trademarks everywhere, consequently Manhattan Folds is proud of minimilism, sparks flying from the impact of design. To compliment this, MF is full of kinetic visual wit that is so often dry and sharp, creating a sense of guilty humour and gestic comedy that Ryan Rubinello's newsreader serves to reinforce. Elements such as these are placed in a humble jigsaw that makes the viewing experience compelling and distorting. Sadly, pieces of the puzzle are missing in order to fully create the details needed to complete the picture. There's a sense of irony about the comparison considering many viewers had to think hard to understand. With dedicated viewing MF comes together. The vital problems remain because JP could have done more in his power to speed up this thinking process. That said, the director becomes entangled himself by the end of the film, and this is depressingly apparent. And not even Ryans' biting narration can save it thereon.

Manhattan Folds is a noble experiment, and I give credit to JP for his flair and the panache with which this was pulled off. A longer runtime and MF could have fell into ruin quickly, but JP knows when and where to take his direction, even if he sombrely fails narrative-wise. A fan of Doom and JP will certainly be interested. Those who hate over-reachers that demand strenous brain power should probably give it a miss.