Lady Bogey

Starring: Alison Midstokke, Jam Murphy, Luis Berrio
Directed by: Antonio LaGamba, Alison Midstokke
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Thriller
Length: 8 minutes
2022

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Alison Midstokke) brutally hunts down those responsible for scarring her face and destroying her life.

Review:

Tim: I'm not entirely sure what to make of the short film, Lady Bogey. There's some interesting concepts and aesthetics explored here, but it's also so short (just over 8 minutes) that it never really develops into a cohesive, satisfying story. There are definitely flashes of talent from the directors and the cast, though.

As a whole, it feels like Lady Bogey is almost a sizzle reel, or a proof of concept, rather than a fully-fleshed out short film. It's interesting to see a short action crime thriller, featuring a protagonist with disabilities. Too often, our films are populated by "perfect" human specimens, which leaves out the majority of humankind. Most of us are flawed, imperfect. There's real beauty in those imperfections, not that you'd ever know that by watching the typical Hollywood movie. This film upends that approach, casting a woman, Alison Midstokke, born with Treacher Collins syndrome in the lead. Her appearance is not what we expect from movies, which is why it's so important. I love that the short film leaned into this. We desperately need more diversity, more glimpses of all of humanity in cinema. To cast someone with facial deformities (it seems like the proper term is "differences") in a role like this matters. That's my biggest takeaway from this film and what I appreciated the most. Action heroines can (and should) come in many shapes and sizes.

The film itself has a great aesthetic. The movie is presented in black and white, except that anything red seems to be vibrantly colored in. This gives the short a dreamy, gritty (it can be both!) approach and feel. Our eyes are always drawn to the color and it gives the film a hard edge. You think about the starkness of black and white, and the red makes you think of blood. It's a worthwhile visual approach for a film like this, and it's done exceptionally well.

Alison Midstokke is solid in the lead role. I can't claim I loved her performance, but I did love that she was given this opportunity. You can tell how much it means to her, and how she poured herself into this role. Jam Murphy was strong in a single scene, making the most of her screen time (although she's not given quite enough to do). Luis Berrio was solid, too. It felt like his acting was the most authentic, the most believable among the cast.

The part of the film that feels weakest is the narrative. It takes a bit for the movie to get going, and then it feels like it ends far too quickly. 8:23 or whatever isn't quite enough to tell this story. It didn't feel like we got an actual story with a beginning, middle, and end. It felt too choppy. The ending comes far too quickly and leaves us feeling a bit unsatisfied. It gives the whole film this feeling like what we saw was interesting, yet incomplete.

I'm glad I watched Lady Bogey and I definitely took some positives from the short film. This isn't the kind of film I watch much of, but it reminded me that there's people all around the world pushing boundaries in some small way, and whenever I see what they're doing, I leave feeling inspired.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



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