'I Would Never' — Short Film Review
“I Would Never,” written, directed and starring Kiran Deol and Daniel Johnson, made its premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Short Cuts category and is produced by Erica Fishman, and executive produced by Deniese Davis.
Boundaries are crossed and a friendship tested when a law-school study session leads to uncharted territory for two young people, in this provocative, intimate, and remarkably incisive work by filmmaker, comedian, and actor Kiran Deol.
When asked, during a TIFF roundtable interview, what compelled Deol to write the film, she had this to say:
“One of the big things for me when I read an article that came out, especially in the #MeToo era, was that it sometimes could feel like — what’s the big deal, whether it was a hand on the knee or this person said this or this person said that — and I thought it would be really interesting to play out a scene and watch the tonal shift and use the camera as the way to engage that tonal shift.”
“I Would Never” was shot in a single location and is conveyed from the subjective narrative of a woman who has a romantic encounter that starts out warmly and ends up with distrust. This personal style of storytelling creates a vivid standpoint and a space for the viewer to experience both character’s perspectives — the good, bad and murky.
Deol ingeniously challenges assumptions by highlighting the grey in communication and crossed boundaries in a way that leaves the viewer with no choice but to engage with what each person is thinking and feeling. And it is within those uncomfortable spaces that constructive conversations begin to take place. “I Would Never” is a thought-provoking 10-minute short film that says a great deal about a layered and complex subject in a finite amount of time. It’s a must watch.
Edited by: Zeus Quijano, Jr. & James Darling
Original Music by: John Morgan Askew
A 29 Gold Film
