Starring: Bertie Gilbert, Jack Howard, Chris Kendall.
Rocks That Bleed, is another short film by the young and talented Bertie Gilbert.
The film is definitely open for interpretation, so this is how I would personally describe the story. It tells the story of two brothers, who after being apart for a year and a half, come together and celebrate Sidney's (Gilbert), 18th birthday and also the end of the world?
I'm always so excited when Bertie puts a new short out. I love the way that he uses YouTube to premier his work, rather than Vimeo or other sorts.
For such a young fella, he is so full of talent and produces, both aesthetically and internally, beautiful content. He writes with purpose and an edge, like nothing written before. His visual style is impeccable and the colour choices he makes are exempt. Bertie, creates everything you want from an indie film and Rocks That Bleed is no exception.
Firstly, the story of the film was very unique and one that instantly had me hooked in wanting to see more. It was never predictable and was scripted so eloquently. The characters were written with great depth and familiarity even though little information and backstory was given on them and their relationship with each other was wrote with the perfect amounts of discomfort and love. The characters were also given great emotional presence without it being blatant, which only emphasised the acting capabilities of Howard and Gilbert.
Which leads us to the acting... Jack Howard and Bertie Gilbert are already household names to many teenagers around the world. Through their vlogs and videos, we have seen their acting capabilities but this puts them in a whole new perspective.
Gilbert seems to always put himself in the sympathetic position, as if he's always the right one who everyone else needs to feel bad for but he plays it so well. Although, it would be great to see him play a new role and one maybe more eccentric or upbeat.
Howard really surprised me with his performance as I wasn't expecting him to give off such a strong character and essence. He really proved himself but I feel like maybe put too much into it, as it was slightly overdone but still wonderful.
Cinematography in Gilbert's films, done by Ciaran O'Brien, is always on point. There is always such poetic use of colouring used and it's always filtered to a T. What I like most about the colouring and cinematography, is that it's almost become instantly recognisable, much like Wes Andersons quirky images and colours, Bertie and co have created their own sort of trademark.
Something that definitely stood out to me as one of the best things, was the shot types. The images created were flawlessly manufactured and the minimalistic details that went into the settings, seemed effortlessly effective. I felt as though the shot types were very emotive and captured a lot of expression.
Finally, the ending. The cover of Here Comes The Sun, performed by Tom Rosenthal ended the film perfectly. The songs rough and acoustic voice worked well the theme of the film and lyrically, the song worked greatly with the theme of the film.
Overall, another wonderful film created by Bertie Gilbert and one that was even better than the last. I highly recommend so you can view the superb cinematography, acting and soundtrack.
Something that definitely stood out to me as one of the best things, was the shot types. The images created were flawlessly manufactured and the minimalistic details that went into the settings, seemed effortlessly effective. I felt as though the shot types were very emotive and captured a lot of expression.
Finally, the ending. The cover of Here Comes The Sun, performed by Tom Rosenthal ended the film perfectly. The songs rough and acoustic voice worked well the theme of the film and lyrically, the song worked greatly with the theme of the film.
Overall, another wonderful film created by Bertie Gilbert and one that was even better than the last. I highly recommend so you can view the superb cinematography, acting and soundtrack.
