Audience Member
Dreamy, hallucinatory film perfect for the after 10 pm experience. I watched it on Tubi, but I would recommend finding a place to watch it without commercials so you can get into the mood.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/02/23
Full Review
rehan a
Stephen Rutterford's Finding Ophelia (2021) is a story of obsession and the bizarre as one man finds himself sucked into a reality bending trip in the pursuit of a mysterious and sultry woman.
By far the most striking aspect about Finding Ophelia are its hypnotic visuals that convey the ethereal aspects of the story through a masterful use of color and motion. The two leads, Jimmy Levar and Christina Chu-Ryan, settle into their roles nicely and illustrate commendable lead performances that elevate the story. Rutterford's direction is commendable as well as he successfully manages to balance the reality and fantasy aspects of the narrative and crafts a potent fantasy horror in doing so.
With crisp cinematography and great sound editing, Finding Ophelia manages to blur the line between fantasy and reality, leading to an engrossing mind bending odyssey. The film not only manages to impress through its technical and narrative aspects alone but is a great debut by first time director Stephen Rutterford. In short, the film is a trip worth taking for its visual aspects alone.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Finding Ophelia is a fantasy, mystery movie written and directed by
Stephen Rutterford about a man's infatuation with a mysterious woman,
which takes him down a strange path filled with signs and surprises.
William Edgar (Jimmy Levar), a New York advertising executive, is
entranced by a series of captivating dreams that blur the lines between
imagination and reality. When he is forced to choose between his career,
his relationships, and his romantic obsession with a mysterious woman,
his life is thrown into disarray. Doing whatever it takes to find her leads
William down a strange, dark path of signs and wonders, and he quickly
learns that seeking the girl of your dreams can be a nightmare for him.
Other theories emerge as writer-director Stephen Rutterford's story
progresses, all of which involve a lovely woman (Christina Chu) who
hovers above the ocean . In any case, William is deeply fascinated with
her and believes that her appearance in his dreams is a sign. This sends
him on a wonderful mystery tour through an urban wasteland filled with
taunting pigs, dancing caterpillars, and frothing people.
Ophelia is a character in William Shakespeare's drama Hamlet. In Hamlet,
Ophelia represents femininity.
The movie uses oneiric structure for the screenplay. Oneiric Structure is a
one-of-a-kind screenplay structure that tells a story using dream-likeimages while also diving into the structure of dreams, memories, and
human mind. As the film progresses, the distinction between the actual
world and the dream world becomes increasingly hazy. We don't know
what's true and what's not.
The filmmakers use the oneiric aspect to create bizarre and otherworldly
effects in their masterpieces. Male actors are the most prevalent leading
dramatis personae in oneiric flicks. The character's embodiment is
marked by narratives in which he enacts a pattern of desire that includes
stimulating, erontic, and affectionate deeds. Scenes in oneiric films are
depicted as if the characters are present in a real world. The conclusion
of these flicks, on the other hand, reveals that everything was actually
unfolding around a dream.
The music choices are great which gives the intensity of dreams. The
performances from the Jimmy Levar and Christina Chu are pretty strong
for such a dream-like film. One of the best part of the movie is it's colour
grading, which is astonishing.
This mystery is very well made, with convincing acting and has a plot that
the viewer will want to follow.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/14/23
Full Review
Audience Member
New York ad exec William Edgar (Jimmy Levar) has been experiencing a series of ultra-vivid dreams that he is obsessing over when life throws him a curve. He must choose between his real life and the fantasy world that a mysterious woman (Christina Chu) offers. Now, as he follows her down an increasingly strange path, he wonders if she's the girl of his dreams or something much worse.
This is an auteur project, as Stephen Rutterford wrote, directed, produced, edited, did the cinematography, created the color design and co-scored this film. It's a dreamlike 73-minutes that seems like you're part of the lucid dreamworld of its hero, going along for the ride as he escapes reality and enters something and somewhere different.
This film transcends its small budget to tell a story that's different than anything else you'll see this year.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Wow, What an Intense Ride! Amazing work of art - Visually stunning! This film is intricately put together with dazzling cinematography choreographed by an exceptional score that captures the feel of the city along with its emotions. Yes, it's extreme at moments, and that's what makes it great, but makes it brilliant is the beauty and serenity also captured! This film maker is VERY talented and he brings out the best in his also talented cast!! I can't wait to see what's next for Mr. Rutterford and friends! Bravo!!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
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