Short Film: The Fourth Wall (2020) Review

Synopsis

Chloé is a serious actress who’s spent her life on the stages of Paris. The result? She has been chipped down into a product of the scrutiny and unfair politics that infest the entertainment industry. Doomed to star in one last performance of Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ Chloé fights for her moment in the spotlight amongst the self-serving newcomers she is forced to share the stage with. How far will she go to be the star of the show?

Commentary

The long, walking shots, colorful sets, and over-the-top characters immediately gave me flashbacks to the 2018 film, Climax, which was really good. The story here is nothing like Climax, but they definitely seemed to have borrowed the look of the film.

We see the backstage infighting and goings-on from the various actors and characters in the theater. Chloe’s sporting a nosebleed through most of the film, and we have to assume she’s a coked-up addict whose career really isn’t what she thinks it it.

The audience of course, loves what they see, even though it’s not in the script. Chloe unwittingly gives the best performance of her career, but how will she do a follow-up performance?