• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Write for Us
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

Behind Closed Doors: Keeping (Unreal) Things Real With Camerawork

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
16 Nov 2019
in Reviews
0
Behind Closed Doors - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Kelly Bergsma’s Behind Closed Doors treats its protagonist, a cop suffering from PTSD like a raging wild animal who is meted out extreme treatment. In both cases, neither is given proper attention. As a result, the film feels half-assed and a mess in its very ideation.

Leighton (played by Jason Verner) carries with him the trauma of a mass shooting that he was present at. The smallest triggers set him off and he is constantly haunted by the memories of the event, sometimes even losing his present. His partner and sister-in-law, Sarah (Nicole Crisp), is aware that the higher-ups want him to take time off at the least. She carries the paperwork around with her but is unsure about letting Leighton know, much less hand them to him. After another mishap involving a civilian, Sarah makes up her mind and gets in touch with Leighton’s wife, Jill (Chantelle Naude). There is a dynamic at play between Sarah and Jill about breaking the news to Leighton that portrays him as a villain, rather than someone who is simply in need of help. The screenplay allows Leighton to fill that role too, when, upon being triggered while Jill tries to talk to him about the papers, he punches her and blacks out. Soon, he’s out in the woods with the intent of burying Jill. The rest of the film expands on its lazy idea, concluding in rather bad taste. 

Behind Closed Doors - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

What perhaps redeems the terrible plot is that it is hard to take it seriously when the leading performance is far from believable. Verner is rarely in character and it results in a gimmicky act. He growls and grimaces, but none of it comes from a place of conviction, and it shows. Crisp fares slightly better; she is decent in almost all her scenes except in the climax. DP John Marcel Rousselet deserves praise for lending the plot its feeling of immediacy and tension, without which there was little here that lent Behind Closed Doors any grace. 

Bergsma misses the mark by a wide shot, for even though the film is likeable by its technical aspects, Behind Closed Doors’ story is barely passable, holding up the same terrible ideas that keep treatable problems firmly under the carpet and behind closed doors. 

Behind Closed Doors: Keeping (Unreal) Things Real With Camerawork
2.9 / 5 Stars
Direction
Cinematography
Screenplay
Editing
Music

Watch Behind Closed Doors Short Film

Tags: ReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Pearl: Looking for Light Beyond A Sea of Grey

Next Post

A Worthy Man: The Destructive Powers Of Low Self-Worth

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

Fish Out of Water - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Fish Out Of Water: Mellow Look Into A Child’s Inner World

26th January 2021
2125 - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

2125: A Quarantine Much Worse

19th January 2021
Next Post
A Worthy Man - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

A Worthy Man: The Destructive Powers Of Low Self-Worth

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

From Editor’s Desk

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Editor’s Picks: 2020’s Flashback In One Go!

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmTeaser: ‘Frames: A Visual Essay’ Is A Touching Film But Unfair To Its Characters.
Read our review and watch the short film now, link in bio.

@gofly.akite
#ShortFilmReview #ShortFilm #SupportIndieFilm #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Miss Freelance: A Week Of Searching For Meaning⠀
⠀
Read our review and watch the film short film, link in bio. ⠀
⠀
@matthewkylelevine⠀
#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #ShortFilms #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Fish Out Of Water: There
  • #ShortFilmReview: Nene: Her life was summed up in one canvas. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@kinglouiefilms⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: La Jaula: Can you get yourself out of the network? Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@umbra_directors⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Anna: The promise to a better life passes through hell. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@annafilm19⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Invitation (Die Einladung): Dinner could change everything. Read our review. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@thorsten7319⠀
⠀
#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Yearbook: All of mankind
  • #ShortFilmReview: Comfort Zone: Free your voice. Join the movement. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.⠀
⠀
⠀
@jordanblady⠀
⠀
#DocumentaryFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportindieFilm

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Premieres
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Submit Short Film

© 2015-2021 Indie Shorts Mag