Ever since losing his son (it's never explained how exactly), Kyle (Kevin Renwick) has gone off the hook: He has lost his job, his wife Sherry (Jackie Moore) has left him, he's in debt and no longer eligible for welfare, and he has taken to drinking. And now he wants to end it all, so he drops by the former home of him and his wife that's up for sale, writes a good-bye letter for Sherry, empties a bottle of vodka, puts a gun into his mouth and ... realises it's not that easy to just shoot oneself dead, and after numerous attempts all he can come up with is a slight scratch on the cheek. And upset neighbours who have hears a shot and called Sherry and the police ... and soon Kyle has all sorts of problems on his hand, including nosey policemen (Nelson Cheng, Nathan Kehn), an intrusive realtor (Tammy Kaitz), dozens of unwanted phonecalls that still need answering - and through all these things that keep Kyle from making another attempt at suicide his resolve grows ever stronger. Thing is, people have grown wise to what Kyle's up to ...

Even though the subject matter of Grief (and the title might be a bit of a dead giveaway) is very depressing, this is a movie that shows remarkable wit when it comes to telling its story, taking its audience on exactly the emotional rollercoaster ride that its lead character experiences, and mirroring this in its cinematical language as well, which is at times trippy or allegorical, dreamlike and nightmarish, to really let us enter Kyle's mind. And the whole thing is rather handsomely carried by Kevin Renwick's on-screen performance, who does find nuances in Kyle's personal hell.

The outcome is actually quite entertaining despite the downbeat premise - just don't confuse this with any kind of party movie ;)

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Grief at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Grief here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai

Thanks for watching !!!