Midlands Review of Cyberlante

midlandsmovies • October 3, 2020

Cyberlante

Directed by James Smith

2020

Raya Films

You’re a low or no budget local filmmaker so how do you get your hands on the expensive equipment needed to start your production? Well, the short answer is, you don’t. Cyberlante is a new local feature film from Raya Films directed by James Smith and is filmed entirely on a mobile phone.

With mainstream films such as Tangerine and Unsane using the same technique out of Hollywood, this Midlands film has utilised the flexibility, speed and high quality of modern smartphones to capture their drama about hacking and obsession.

Cyberlante begins with our lead Matt (played by Gavin Gordon) who is down on his luck and takes a boring job at a local hotel to earn his living. With support from his friend Ozzy (played by Domenic Tiberius Russo) he undertakes the menial work under the eye of obnoxious boss Clayton (Mark Peachey).

Discussing his previous work, we uncover Matt has utilised his internet expertise in less than honourable ways by hacking and scamming in the past. Has he moved beyond this? Well, the film shows how this skill can be put to use in another way, which helps uncover even worse deeds.

The first half an hour sets up the above, but in a weird way the film reverses the old adage ‘show don’t tell’ so much that I was itching for more “tell”. Especially the lack of dialogue to create drama and conflict in each scene. Instead there’s lots of contemplative walking. A faster pace could have really helped as there wasn’t a great deal of content here at the beginning. Most of the story by that point could have been set up in a third of the time.

However, my wish for a bit more narrative oomph does come in the second half though. Mark Peachey’s excellent role as the work bully develops into darker territory, as themes of cyber-stalking and tailing his ex-partners begin to bubble up in the story.

Funnily enough, this relationship drama could have started far earlier in the film – and is at times more interesting – with good performances from Emily Haigh and Mia Mills as the women hounded by Clayton’s mania. Mills delivers the film’s best joke stating everything in her world is “Absolutely peachy”. Top inside-joke pun work!

The use of technology is obviously a big part and Cyberlante uses different filmmaking techniques to visualise the use of mobile phones, web phone calls, online searches and surveillance style footage. Most, if not all, of this comes in the second half and as before, it wouldn’t be so bad to sprinkle this style a little earlier in the film.

Again, the technical side of things is the surprising standout here. The HD quality of shots look no different to a lot of local films I’ve seen, and kudos should go to director/cinematographer James Smith for such top-notch images throughout. Especially capturing the landscapes around Leicestershire.

Also of note is the fantastic location work (which ironically helped a lot given the current lockdown measures) and some chase scenes and punch ups towards the film’s ending, which ratchet up the stakes.

So Cyberlante does have a few drawbacks – a few more dramatic scenes to create tension and excitement were too few and far between – but there are lots of positives throughout.

But I recommend local filmmakers taking note. If you have a phone, you should be making films that look at least this good and if a budget is severely restricted then for the right project, I’d leave your SLR at home and focus your efforts elsewhere.

In the end, Cyberlante’s biggest draw is its fantastic use of modern tech and its delivery of a project made solely on a smart phone. With a few minor flaws in its slow pace at the start, the truly real surprise is the quality of the filmmaking technique. It makes Cyberlante a production that has used all its limitations to its advantage with a sound story delving into the shady world of computers and criminality.

Michael Sales

The film has been RELEASED and is now ONLINE to watch on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyberlante-Gavin-Gordon/dp/B08K363ZZ2

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