Just in time for the film’s World Premiere at Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, in this exclusive interview writer/director SEAN McGINLY breaks down the elements of his latest film – MATCH.
SEAN McGINLY has proven to be a force in the world of independent film for more than two decades and going back to the days of films like The Truth About Juliet, then a decade later with the unforgettable star-studded The Great Buck Howard and most recent films Lawless Range and Silver Lake. More than just a narrative storyteller, Sean touched our hearts and our souls with his very personal and powerful documentary Brothers in 2006. And now Sean delivers something truly original, topical, and timely with MATCH.
The story of two people who meet on an online dating site, MATCH stars Ahna O’Reilly, Austin Nichols, and Spencer Garrett. O’Reilly and Nichols are Jennifer and Ian, respectively; meeting online via a dating app, their casual flirtation quickly heats up with intensity and intimacy. With distance and the internet between them, this virtual relationship continues as they explore their backgrounds, personal issues, and feelings for each other. But what happens once they meet and the connection they had devolves into desperation and obsessiveness that reveals the real truths about each of them, truths that texting and emailing hide.
With a cast of only three and never onscreen together, but told through visuals with texts, emails, and one-sided phone messages, McGinly takes us deep into the mindset of Jennifer and Ian, immersing us in this bubble of theirs. Visually engaging thanks to split screens which metaphorically serve as dutch angles in a traditional narrative film to signify shift of power, emotion, and tone, McGinly together with his cinematographer Thomas Scott Stanton and Animation Supervisor Kris Magyarits intensify the experience by going monochromatic in black and white, employing pops or subtle tinges of color to represent various emotions as they emerge during this virtual relationship, and more. The thought and craftsmanship that went into the visual grammar to develop the visual tonal bandwidth is exceedingly well done. Adding to the visual dynamic is the work of editor Charles Norris who finds pacing and emotional range with rapier precision.
Performances excel, most notably that of Ahna O’Reilly as Jennifer who evokes multiple emotions in us as moviegoers, tapping into real-world experiences that many of us have either witnessed, been guilty of ourselves, or known individuals in situations like that of Jennifer and Ian. Austin Nichols is affable and engaging as Ian which creates for a powerful yin and yang back-and-forth between Jennifer and Ian. Veteran actor Spencer Garrett is perfection as a high-powered Beverly Hills attorney who makes an appearance in the third act.
The icing on the cake though is Ryan Thomas Johnson’s score; a constant drumbeat that vacillates in beat and modulation, as omnipresent as a heartbeat, rising blood pressure, or the battle of dating.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 09/16/2022
MATCH is a “Must See Festival Film” be it at DTLA Film Festival or as part of other upcoming festivals or on the distribution of the film.
MATCH screens September 17, at 1:50 p.m. in narrative feature competition at the Regal LA Live Theater, 1000 W. Olympic Blvd. in downtown Los Angeles as part of the DTLA Film Festival.
