Written and directed by Brian Logvinsky, co-written by leading actor Harrison Ball, a dancer savant with serious anger issues is about to sabotage his life when a strange psychotherapist brings him to face the shadows of his subconscious mind. Also starring: Marc Geller, Debbie Harry, Jemima Kirke and Sasha Pivovarova.
Upon opening, Catharsis dives headfirst into its theme of reflection and builds an intensely pensive atmosphere. The use of black and white mixed with slow motion and almost church bell like music sets the scene well. The way that it moves gives the feel of being in a haze, carried off by your environment rather than in control. Brian Logvinsky then sharply brings things back down to earth with a nicely harsh, thriller-esque touch.
Throughout the short there are a lot of choices that feed into classic horror elements, which help to give Catharsis a darker, curious feel. It’s something that you can see consistently throughout, attention to detail, one great example being the use of Hedgehog in the Fog. It also brings through an edge of grit but never tries to become sleazy or grim. It’s all done with a highly stylistic manner that in turn leans into the strong dance influences.
However, ironically it feels as though Catharsis weakens when it reaches its titular relief, it becomes much less complex. Similar could be said of Harrison Ball’s performance, for the most part he does a wonderful job but it’s in his moments of dialogue that he falters. When he’s exploring all the emotions of Alex without speech, it works well but the line delivery falls short. And when dance ultimately takes off in its finale, it feels like too simplistic of a resolution. However, Debbie Harry shows a huge potential for further roles of this kind, she’s a fantastic addition to the short.
Catharsis creates almost a performance piece, focused more on the atmosphere than its destination. Brian Logvinsky brings a strong style into the mix, sharped by the cinematography from Jo Jo Lam. It plays around with genre, Harrison Ball leads the way with an intensely brooding, conflicted aura, which may weaken occasionally but is still a solid performance, well supported by Debbie Harry. The story isn’t quite full enough and falters towards the end but it’s a strong directorial debut from Logvinsky.
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