-Written by Kyle Bain.
Harold (Daniel Berkey) struggles as he lies, dying in a hospital bed. He’s grouchy, unwilling to deal with the idiosyncrasies of the world around him–but something will force him to face the reality of the life that he lived. The One Who Watches Over begs viewers to look internally, to analyze who and what they are.
Shooting The One Who Watches Over in black and white effectively sucks the life out of the film–in the best way possible. Forced to deal with his fractured psyche and the reality that he doesn’t have much time left, Harold struggles with his past and what the future might hold for him. Harold doesn’t have much of an existence, and that is made clear through the absence of color. From the opening seconds, the dark, drab tones envelope us, reel us in–and they keep hold of us throughout the duration of the film.
The dialogue is a bit too rigid and inorganic for my liking. Ultimately, I feel that the message is received in spite of that dialogue, but it still feels somewhat ineffective tonally. Again, the black and white creates a darker, heavier tone, but the dialogue feels combative in this way, developing something less intense. While the dialogue certainly doesn’t ruin the film, it almost seems to flatten it to a degree, stealing from the harrowing nature of what Writer-Director Anthony Dameno Almiron Cohen is attempting to create. It’s not until Harold’s final monologue that the emotion comes through in the dialogue. Once Berkey is unencumbered by faulty conversation, left to his own devices, but supported by the dialogue, The One Who Watches Over flourishes, becomes so emotionally relevant, and proves just what Berkey and Cohen are made of.
The characters, too, feel frumpy. I blame this on the dialogue–the fact that they aren’t able to develop in any way. Conversely, I’m not sure that these characters are meant to develop, but rather to help develop Harold throughout the course of The One Who Watches Over. On one hand, I’m sort of frustrated that none of the other characters do much on their own, and that Harold is sort of left by himself in a way throughout. On the other hand, however, it seems almost necessary that Harold be left to his own devices, to try to understand himself on his own. I’m torn in this regard. I’m unsure whether or not Cohen is successful here, but I can’t hold it against him, the fact that I feel conflicted.
Cohen intended for The One Who Watches Over to be an intense, almost thriller. In many ways he achieves this. By filming in black and white, by developing a truly intense monologue to help close out the film, and (I’m still not sure about this) to create a sense of isolation in regard to Harold all lend themselves to success in terms of that aforementioned goal. However, the hiccups with the dialogue throughout the majority of The One Who Watches Over greatly hinders the film’s ability to be successful (at least for a good portion of the production). I appreciate the story and the message that Cohen is attempting to convey. I enjoyed Harold’s development, and I felt that there were many instances in which Cohen is incredibly successful in creating something masterful as part of the thriller genre. While there are some issues along the way, I do believe that The One Who Watches Over is a successful production, one that hopes to usher in change and self awareness among its viewers.
Written & Directed by Anthony Dameno Almiron Cohen.
Starring Daniel Berkey, Michael Tumminello, Danielle Greenwald, Elliot “Young N3ss” Herrero, Ethan Sing, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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