-Written by Kyle Bain.
When a woman (Shanti Lowry) wakes up in an unfamiliar place, she realizes that she can’t remember her name, where she came from, or how she got here. Persona follows this woman and another as they attempt to understand the situation in which they find themselves, but also one another. They only way out is through–but through what they’re not quite sure.
Persona is a stressful film, and intentionally so. Writer Blyth Kemp and Director Mike Ho lean into developing suspense and intensity early and often. By providing us with as little information as possible, viewers are ultimately dragged through the film almost blind, forced to gravitate toward any bit of information that may come our way. With that, however, there were some moments throughout the course of Person that I found to be tedious. In many cases we are left to our own devices, while stuck in one place for over an hour. This hinders the film’s success to a degree, but just as I was getting tired of the same old thing happening time and time again, the narrative shifts.
There’s a twist a little over an hour into the film that I found incredibly interesting. Furthermore, I didn’t see it coming, making it all the more enjoyable. After the big reveal, Persona, as a whole, shifts drastically. The pacing picks up, and the final twenty-five minutes or so are incredibly captivating. As the film drew to a close, everything that had slowly built but didn’t really go anywhere finally amounted to something–and it made the rest of the film worth the wait.
The issue that I had with the film being confined to one location for nearly two hours could, and likely will appeal to many viewers. It has the potential to create a sense of claustrophobia that transcends the film and allows the suspense to develop–but it didn’t appeal to me. Again, what it has the potential to do for Persona is continue to develop that intended suspense and create a stronger bond between the film and its audience in the early going. While this is something that would typically appeal to me when watching a film of this nature, I felt that this aspect of Persona wasn’t fully realized, causing it to fall short.
What works brilliantly to develop drama and intensity is the cinematography. Director of Photography Anthony Kimata allows the cinematography to remain shaky throughout the course of the film, almost making it its own character. The constant shaking does become frustrating, but intentionally so, and in a way that continues to further immerse the audience in this story. Persona is almost entirely dependent on the development of suspense throughout, and the cinematography is the greatest proponent of the film’s success in this regard.
Persona takes a long time to develop, and there are many instances throughout the first two acts in which I found myself struggling to remain focused and get past the claustrophobic nature of the production. However, as the narrative progresses, new characters come into the fold, and the cinematography continues to immerse viewers, Persona begins to excel. When all was said and done I genuinely appreciated Persona, even if there were a few hurdles to overcome before the satisfying conclusion.
Directed by Mike Ho.
Written by Blyth Kemp.
Starring Sophia Ali, Shanti Lowry, Andrew Howard, Omar Gooding, Dylan Mooney, etc.
7/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE
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