Quietly On By
Frank V. Ross
USA | 2005 | 93mins | Beta | Colour

Out of work, out of motivation, twenty-something, Aaron lolls in his mother's suburban house, going a little crazier by the day. His girlfriend bailed months ago, his sister brazenly raids his tackle-box stash of savings to buy pot from his best friend, and interest in life just seems to be draining away, except for Aaron's increasingly stalker-like obsession with unreceptive Sara.

This is truly gut-wrenching filmmaking in the manner in which we're made feel every giddily awkward moment. None more so than when slacker-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown, Aaron practically breaks out in a sheen of anxious perspiration when he meets Sara'a quick-witted, cool-as-a-breeze boyfriend. With some top-notch naturalistic acting at his disposal Ross shows himself to be a master of digital filmmaking and with Quietly On By he has created a film as free of artifice as you're likely to see.