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November 2015 |
This year, a new film from the Film Programme made its way to the Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival (also celebrating 10 years). What started off as a 50-minute film made during the Programme's third-year Capstone thesis course evolved into a 72-minute feature in competition for Best Trinidad and Tobago Feature at the Festival. "Pendulum", the debut feature from 23-year-old Michael Rochford, won him the bpTT sponsored prize for the Best Emerging Trinidad and Tobago Filmmaker. Written by Rochford, Anastasia Alexis and Joshua Paul, the movie revolves around the character of Ryan Williams (played by Jovon Browne), a former soldier turned journalist who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after a traumatic wartime incident left him mentally scarred. Perception of reality or the "reality" presented to the audience permeates "Pendulum." Shot in Port of Spain, Tunapuna, Arima and The UWI St. Augustine Campus, the film was designed in such a way that it all feels part of the same place – this place being the fictional Urio City. There’s also the film’s comic relief, a former soldier turned Ryan’s unofficial accomplice, Harold (Scott Evans), who subtly represents the perception of reality in "Pendulum." Established in his introductory scene (filmed in Trevor’s Edge – a popular pub/restaurant in St. Augustine) as a man who chose alcohol as a means of moving on from his wartime past, Harold regularly uses colloquial slang in his dialogue despite his blatantly foreign accent. Oddly enough, he uses more colloquial slang than anyone else in the movie. Perhaps I’m reading into this character too much, but to me, Harold represented a level of self-awareness in "Pendulum" where the use of colloquial slang to help authenticate the nationality of Trinbagonian film characters (not actors) is challenged – or should I say, poked fun – at by having a "foreign" character say them. But it’s the character of Ryan Williams that truly embodies the film’s theme. Ryan questions, and is questioned about, his own sanity as he is regularly bombarded by brief, intense panic attacks and flashes of broken memories. There’s a memorable scene where we see the first of Ryan’s panic attacks, which begins with him staggering through a street and ends with him on the muddy ground of a playground – heart racing, losing his breath. I wish the film took some more time to delve into the fractured mindset of Browne’s character, to really make the audience understand how powerful a grip his PTSD has onto his psyche, and make us question his sanity even more. Fortunately, the narrative and technical missteps (sound design, for example, for the version that I saw needed some polishing) are few and far between, as "Pendulum" is still an amazingly entertaining movie from start to finish. Michael Rochford’s direction is focused, economical and assured. The cinematography, with its cool colour palette of greys, browns, blues and greens, helps in creating a contemporary yet neo-noirish version of Trinidad for the film’s characters to inhabit. Speaking of characters, the cast of "Pendulum" turned in impressive performances, especially from Jovon Browne, Stephen Hadeed Jr. and Scott Evans. There’s also the talented Anokha Baptiste, who plays Luther’s receptionist Sarah Darding, who easily rivals Browne, Evans and Hadeed Jr. in terms of standout performance. Michael Rochford started off his film career with a 2012 short film (which he made before entering the UWI Film Programme) "The Man in the Woods" (you can find it on YouTube), which starred himself and Jovon Browne as the two lead characters. Three years later, they’ve worked together on their own feature film. Having known Michael since the challenging production of "The Man in the Woods," and having heard from Michael himself of the trials and tribulations that went into making "Pendulum," I am truly amazed at the success his debut feature turned out to be. For what it’s worth, this movie represents the potential and possibilities of Trinbagonian cinema.
Matthew Bailey is also a product of The UWI St. Augustine’s Film Programme. |
From its inception in 2005, The UWI St. Augustine Film Programme has contributed to the evolving film industry of the Caribbean. Many of the Programme’s students and lecturers have written, produced, directed, edited and appeared in a number of documentaries ("Caribbean Skin, African Identity" directed by Mandisa Pantin, 2010), short films ("Buck, the Man Spirit" by Steven Taylor, 2010) and feature films ("Haiti Bride" from Yao Ramesar, 2014). 