The day to day monotony of so many peoples lives. It's not only a common thing, but also a thing that harnesses and compounds a poison of sorts, that infects and destroys. So many people think that "just getting by" is simply the way to live. The expected path of the normal everyday Joe or Jane, who may not be super educated, but are needed by the world for the menial tasks that make a business run. What most don't understand, and that includes the people caught up in this never ending race, is that this "poison" begins to wear people down. Make them appear mean or uncaring, easy to anger and quick to judge. When you look at things that way, who's really to blame for the ass-hat who screams at you for a simple, honest mistake? Who's really at fault when these people perform required tasks in a... less than enthusiastic way? What does it take for a sad, depressed woman to crawl out of the hole she has been put into? All these questions and many more were at the front of my brain as I watched "Honor Student" from writer, director Aaron Koontz. What a splendid showcase for "the rest of us" who simply want to get by. What an awesome way to try and quickly, in nine or so minutes, explain why a person you work with, is such an unfeeling ass. Then, in a flash, I realized that the short film I thought I was watching, wasn't what Aaron Koontz intended me to see at all. I had been duped. Quite frankly? I loved it. At some point during the film I kept expecting to see some sort of quick montage. Our protagonist deciding enough was enough, and rising above her expected role in life. Maybe returning to school or even getting a promotion, despite her apathetic life choices. I truly believed this was the direction I was being taken when in fact, I was being taken down the garden path... so to speak. I can't write enough, about my reaction when I finally came to the "real" story Mr. Koontz was telling. I was taken completely off guard. The beauty of this story? It's in the fact that your imagination gets a chance to open up, and interpret the cause relating to the effect. Everything I wrote when starting this write-up can still, completely apply to this film. Yet... not in the exact way you think. It's great to see a flick that doesn't forget we, the viewers, also love to use our imagination. The real twist ending of "Honor Student" comes from making your own. Getting to let the exact reasons of these events, play out in so many different ways. That's the real trick. Letting us re-write what we've just witnessed to a story of our choosing. Technically, there's really not much to write. This was a very well done film. Standard enough to maintain a cinematic charm, yet stylistic enough with it's cinematic choices, to keep the hum-drum of many low budget films at bay. Some excellent camera decisions that counter balance the mundane life of our character, really make this feel like a super quick running film. Since this is a dialog free adventure, let me just write that the small cast manage to spin a good story with some excellent expression work. Overall, this is a well done, slick and polished short film. My only advice? Get a poster and some media friendly material made. People should watch this, and some decent marketing material goes a long way. What's really left for me to write? This was simply a good short film. It also happens to be another title that is available to watch for free, right now. So why not set aside a few minutes and discover a title that is not only entertaining, but also allows you to re-tell the story the way you may think it happens. You can't beat that now can you?
