Life. Death. The afterlife, heaven and hell, purgatory, faith and religion. All these things have been on the mind of mankind since the beginning, in one form or another. What is heaven? Is there a place between worlds? Or, is there a waiting room contained within the actual place we call heaven? It's a funny thing that I stopped to consider all of this stuff when watching "The Waiting Room" from Debra Markowitz, considering all this stuff doesn't directly relate to the film at all. Well, not in an upfront kind of way. Imagine a tragedy that left your spouse or loved one a widow or widower. You enter a place, maybe even heaven, and await the eventual arrival of the one you love. Now, just imagine that person, at some point in their lives, has moved on and remarried. Where does that leave you? The one still waiting? That's the simple, basic plot of this title. What-if? Believe me when I write that it's more than enough. "The Waiting Room" attempts to be a hybrid drama, comedy and works... to some extent. It's not a perfect blend but more than enough to keep it weighing heavy on the side of entertaining. The real beauty, for me anyhow, were the questions I started this write-up with. Plus, maybe a realization that for the religious people of the world, this particular flaw in the "heaven" scenario was probably why marriage is meant to be for life. No divorce, no separation. Just married for life. If something dreadful happens to a spouse, according to the old ways, the widowed person is supposed to stay single. Sounds hellish, but as I wrote above, "The Waiting Room" could be used as a perfect example of why this "law" was meant to be followed. Saves confusion in the afterlife. As I also wrote above: It's funny how such a short film can bring up all these deep thoughts. It did though, for me anyhow. Visually, and on the technical front, "The Waiting Room" fares better than many of it's indie, low budget counter-parts. Nice shots and clear audio go a long way making this an entertaining title. What I found interesting was the choice of sets, or rooms... if you will. Nothing overly fantastic yet strangely... heaven-like. If it even was heaven featured in the movie. You see reader, there's no real clarification if the location is the "actual" heaven or simply a limbo/purgatory of sorts, as our characters await their final destination. Or, in this case, wait for loved ones. This mystery, accidental or intended really adds a nice touch to the general story. The pacing of the edit feels spot on and the cast themselves, well, let me just say that they all did a fantastic job. "The Waiting Room" could have easily not worked at all, had any of the talented cast members not been up to the job. Well done. Here's where things get tricky for me. You see, in this particular case the melding of drama and comedy really was a mixed bag. The comedy didn't always work or wasn't front and center enough. Same goes for the dramatic elements. When they felt they "should be" very dramatic... it wasn't quite enough. It "is" possible that this happened because my mind kept turning and turning, on things that really didn't relate directly to the plot. As I wrote above. So, maybe I just didn't take it for what it was. However, if that's the case I have to ask myself: If my mind raced off topic like that... who is to say that someone else won't run into the same problem? With all that said, this was a minor thought. Hardly worth bringing up at all. Overall, this was a fun little title with a side order of serious. Or maybe the other way around. Either way you slice it, "The Waiting Room" was a quick and easy adventure into the world of indie film. Easily earning every star I have presented it. I can't say I'm surprised I liked this title so much. This "Debra Markowitz" woman is quickly getting a reputation, in my mind at least, of presenting top notch stuff. Need I say more? This is one to watch for. Check out their social pages, trailer, and follow along.
