OUR MOVIE REVIEW:

I want to keep this review brief. The short film, Moving, written and directed by Nat Rovit, is a very short film, clocking in at just over 8 minutes. It’s a brief encounter with emotions, time, and literature in a way that is intriguing and abstract. Its main plot is that of the young boy who just found out his family is moving to a new home. The film is composed of the initial response, a birthday wish, and the metamorphosis of growing through the pain. It’s simple, honest, albeit underdeveloped and lacking the true spark that makes a film resonate on a deeper level. This short film is so comparable to Inside Out in its emotional plot, that the rest of the film suffers. In 8 minutes, we are treated to the same emotional journey as Inside Out - but Moving lacks the creative characters, the Pixar humour, and the runtime to deepen its ideas meaningfully.

There are a ton of technical details here that really work well. The film grain and sunlit backed rooms are full of props and detail that set the film in your nostalgic memories of the past. Production designer Alicia Simon has nailed the nostalgic state of the family home. For me, that calls to the early 2000’s - but the lack of cell phones and computers mean this film could be set in any time period where people moved houses between cities - a golden era from 1950 to present day. Director of photography Gus Bendinelli uses camera angles to build tension in scenes effectively. The power dynamics of the family are made apparent through the camera and direction, creating a film that feels natural and authentic.

The core “flaw” of Moving is its true lack of a resolution. The journey of Carl is paralleled to the journey of the Very Hungry Caterpillar - creating a cocoon for itself that leads to a major change for the better. But we never get to see Carl’s butterfly take flight - his tears allow him to break out of the cocoon of apathy, and enable him to live again - but we don’t see what becomes of it. The ambiguity of the ending allows the audience to see themselves in the film - but it also steals the film of saying anything deeper. I adore this literary connection - but it's only explored at the surface level in a film that begins to drag in its second half. Add in Daniel Walters upbeat, electronic score, and you have an emotionally confusing resolution to the film. The costuming and makeup is phenomenal - but the lack of deeper resolution makes it vain, when the film should be far more meaningful.