Midlands Review of The Interview
midlandsmovies • May 22, 2020
Midlands Review of The Interview
The Interview
Directed by Dave Inglis
2020
Ponderous Piccies
The Interview is a new film from Birmingham filmmaker and actor Dave Inglis and tells the tale of the difficulties of a past relationship.
Inglis previously directed SYNT (our review here) and here he takes the main, and only, role of John Hastings.
Filmed during the Covid-19 lockdown, Inglis is the sole participant who is recounting the background of a relationship with a guy called Nathan. Covering how they met, through to the happy times and the honeymoon period, it begins with a recollection of warm memories.
Each section is punctuated by a sort of helpful chapter heading (e.g. “trouble in paradise”) so we know where we are in the timeline of their partnership.
Inglis tells the story of the 3-year relationship and how the early days of romance and positivity has become a spiralling decline of control and abuse.
Domestic abuse is a common theme of local films recently and this one take an interesting stylistic choice – one defined by our current lockdown situation – that focuses on the personal ramifications of not being able to “escape”.
Unfortunately though, this has resulted in the film’s entire 23-minute length being one locked off shot with our protagonist talking to the camera against a black background. The lack of any variation to the visuals then becomes increasingly wearisome despite the well-intentioned themes.
A change of background, camera angles or an editing trick or two would really help a viewer to connect a bit more. The film acts as a very long monologue, rather than a visual film, and so would probably work better as a live theatre piece or as an actor’s showreel calling card.
In the end then, it’s great that local filmmakers are still finding unique ways of being creative during the lockdown. Limitations of location and contact with others has meant the traditional filming methods have become severely restricted in this period.
The Interview therefore does have a smart and timely premise, but sadly fails to present its ideas in an engaging fashion owing to its singular and static technique.
Michael Sales
On Sunday 26th April Midlands Movies Editor Michael Sales & awards ceremony co-host Ed Stagg (BBC Radio) announced the nominations for the 2026 Midlands Movies Awards live from the Queen of Bradgate Vintage Cinema in Leicester. A big thanks was given to the entire Jury Panel of industry experts who gave up their precious time to watch a huge selection of creative projects and as always, had a difficult time choosing from the excellent number of films from the region. You can read the full list of nominations across all 16 categories below and watch our announcement videos here: Part 1 & Part 2 And please also check out our great awards partner Chrome Video Best Actress in a Leading Role Karendip Phull for Family Kate Bracken for The Lace Rachel Baker for Throwing Fruit Chloe Wade for How Long Sophie Bullock for Ma Prison Best Animated Film Of All the Things by Steff Lee Big Red by James Pyle Statue in the Garden by Qianhui Yu Butterfly by Jacob Christie Best Director Luke Worrall for The Waterline Lily Portman for Quiet Jack Richardson for Daniel’s Room Jonathan Hawes for Sorry We’re Closed Sophia Dall'Aglio for Man from Mars Best Documentary Nothing's Impossible by Jacob Thomas McClean A Birmingham Symphony Jemma Saunders We Bring Light: Leicester's Diwali Legacy by Kieran Vyas The Sunshine Café by Jill Lampert Through the Viewfinder by William North Best Sound (Editing or Mixing) Neil Evans & his team for Artificial Insanity Alasdair Gretton for Dead on Distribution Deepanjali Patel for Earworm David Hamilton-Smith for The Pause Heidi Wilson for Of All The Things Best Actor in a Supporting Role Devon Junior for Lazar Tim Sparrow for Safety Net Shaiek Ahmed Rana for Family Luke Rollason for Quiet Peter Willoughby for A Story of Spring Best Visual & Special Effects Jake Wesley-Worrall for Soul Trader Steve Askey & team for The Correction Unit Nick Willett & Matt Burkey for Black Goat JaqD SFX MUA, Mind Magic Studios and Ben Harker for Beyond the Witching Hour Jacob Christie for Countenance Best Cinematography Gary Rogers for The Pause Laurence Mason-Guetta for Sorry We’re Closed Ian Snape for Soul Trader Ash Connaughton for Daniel’s Room Duane Adamoli for Surfing (nominations continue below...)
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