Joachim Back directed this Oscar winner for Best Live Action Short Film, a 20-minute foray into seething urban chaos, verbally laced with angry diatribes against the ills of modern society. A gay couple (David Rakoff--outfitted to look unhealthy, though this is not explained--and Jamie Harrold) have just moved into their new apartment, only to learn the residence had a horribly violent past--history which soon repeats itself. Working from a rather pretentious script by writer Anders Thomas Jensen (whose work was then 'adapted' by Rakoff), Back isn't able to get around the inherent 'writer's folly' of the set-up (which is, there's no peace anywhere, so you may as well dance to the music). The unhappy gays in question do not convince as a couple--even before the drop-ins begin arriving--which may be one reason why the finale fails to provide the impact, the dreamy-lunatic capper, Back probably intended. There's a boldly romantic song playing over the end-credits ("To Night is the Last" sung by Sam Bisbee, himself one of the film's many producers) which gives the audience far more of a lift than Back or any of his actors can ultimately bring to the fore.
