Written and directed by Brian Lonano, co-directed by Blake Myers, a filmmaker (Lonano) attempts to make a documentary about a beloved cult film but soon spirals out of his control into a dystopian sci-fi adventure. Starring: Clarke Williams, Soleil St. Louis, Marilyn Chung and Jessica Shipp.
First and foremost, films that are created with the theme of supporting independent film and encouraging filmmakers, are a wonderful thing to see. With Content: The Lo-Fi Man Lonano and Myers not only do that but also make the film a fervent homage to cinema. They then take that a step further by revolving their story around the changing nature of film criticism and the growing level of influencers and YouTube reviews.
It’s fun to watch them hit the nail on the head with how content surrounding film now attempts to become bigger, louder and has a larger focus on aesthetics. Particularly in how it touches upon the unnatural nature of speech when it’s enthroned in commercially driven dialogue, making it become robotic and tongue-tying. Creating a nice battle between classic criticism and modern video reviews, which segues very nicely into having another battle of analogue versus digital.
At that point the film switches things up to dive headfirst into its dystopian sci-fi and enjoyably so because its cues are all coming from beloved 1980s cinema whether it be Japanese or American. There’s a good blend of different cultures in how it moves, embodying the action sequence style from Asian cinema and body horror from the US, which pair really well. It also gives them the opportunity to use a lot of practical effects which are genuine fun to watch at work. It’s not often these days audiences get to experience them so it’s always a superb addition, especially when they’re done with a passion.
Films like Content: The Lo-Fi Man are built around the enjoyment that they hold, rather than relying on the performances and characters to drive it forward. Which takes a little bit of the weight off of the actors’ shoulders and lets them embrace the cheesy and over the top side to the atmosphere. Which is exactly what you get from Clarke Williams, Soleil St. Louis, Marilyn Chung and Jessica Shipp, they lean into the tone of the film, getting the exaggerated note just right. Almost creating street fighter style personas along the way.
The only key weakness that Content: The Lo-Fi Man faces is its runtime, it’s not necessarily long but it moves much faster in the first half than the second. What that means is it can feel longwinded as it reaches its finale which dulls its impact somewhat. The intention is certainly there, with an attention to detail and continuing the homage to cinema but it simply loses that snappy, energetic quality it held earlier on.
Content: The Lo-Fi Man is a fantastic homage to cinema while creating a comment on the evolution of film criticism and discussion. There’s an excellent use of practical effects and a sincere effort clearly went into creating the costumes, which working alongside the direction and editing, truly create that 1980s charm. It has a great cast at work, a solid story and is a loving tribute to supporting cinema, it’s a good time and you can feel the fun that’s been had behind the camera.
FilmCarnage.com 