Staccato. Thought progression. In voice-over. Which studies neurosis. Is brillant.

Filmmaker Heidi Van Lier has the singular talent of crafting meaningful films with interesting voice-over. A narrative technique that for other filmmakers falls flat, rendering a one-dimensionality to characters, serves Van Lier in her sophomore feature Monday as a perfect fit for character and story development. In studying a perpetual loser, an endearing but bumbling obsessive-complusive gent with a penchant for staying indoors and public tantrums, the film runs as an extended interior monologue the likes of which connects with the audience because of its repetitive focus on love, necessity and personal growth. Performances by both lead actors Joe Kraemer and Ele Keats, Kraemer’s kleptomaniac girlfriend, serve the alternate drone and absurdity of the story well, catching a playfulness and child-like wonder in scenes.

However, the repetitive nature of the film also runs the risk of excess, reading more as art for arts sake than art for characters sake. Montages of Kraemer and Keats do indeed belabor the second half of the film, slowing, rather than enhancing the story. Despite this, the tone of the film is entirely individual, a mark of the strength of Van Lier as a filmmaker and a promising note for her future independent work.

Go visit Heidi Van Lier here.

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