This week, I was given the opportunity to watch & review a soon-to-be-released comedy short film by @blintegra
Big thanks to Dan Verkman for thinking of me & sharing!
A charmingly independent corporate satire, LEAF ME ALONE is an entertaining mockery of the huge lengths even the smallest companies will go to in order to pump up their numbers.
"Leaf" follows the newly-coronated CEO of definetly-not-on-the-NASDAQ leaf-removal service, Leaf Me Alone. Willie Stroker is his name, & he lives up to it with his rampant womanizing in the stead of actually doing his job. Verkman's portrayal of the bumbling ex-manure company chief is witty enough to be funny, while remaining grounded enough to make the proceedings that much more darkly believeable. Stroker directs the company to take drastic measures to increase customer engagement with their 1-hour satisfaction surveys, & naturally this is taken way too far for anyone's liking- or safety.
Whether it's the surveys proving so annoying they help an arguing couple find common ground, careless de-leafers tossing bags of leaves into neighboring pools (or not removing them at all; they could be the neighbor's leaves!) or a survey-hungry strike team going to the lengths of domestic terrorism to get a customer response, the short is a constant stream of absurdist humor whose moments of deadpan only further highlight just how true the corporate satire angle rings.
On the production side, Leaf Me Alone is far from glossy; but what for other films may come off cheap or amateurish, Leaf Me Alone manages to make organic. The medium-shot heavy, neutral-lit direction gives the film a hyper realistic feel rather than a cinematic one. One always feels like they're right there in the room with the characters, witnessing the leaves of this hilariously inept company desperately flow in the wind.
At just over 22 minutes sans credits, Leaf Me Alone is a quick, easy watch that's dense with jabs at the clueless services and companies we've all come across. The themes will ring true, & the jokes will land well, for anyone who's ever experienced what at the time feels like the worst customer service in the world.
#supportindiefilm.
Big thanks to Dan Verkman for thinking of me & sharing!
A charmingly independent corporate satire, LEAF ME ALONE is an entertaining mockery of the huge lengths even the smallest companies will go to in order to pump up their numbers.
"Leaf" follows the newly-coronated CEO of definetly-not-on-the-NASDAQ leaf-removal service, Leaf Me Alone. Willie Stroker is his name, & he lives up to it with his rampant womanizing in the stead of actually doing his job. Verkman's portrayal of the bumbling ex-manure company chief is witty enough to be funny, while remaining grounded enough to make the proceedings that much more darkly believeable. Stroker directs the company to take drastic measures to increase customer engagement with their 1-hour satisfaction surveys, & naturally this is taken way too far for anyone's liking- or safety.
Whether it's the surveys proving so annoying they help an arguing couple find common ground, careless de-leafers tossing bags of leaves into neighboring pools (or not removing them at all; they could be the neighbor's leaves!) or a survey-hungry strike team going to the lengths of domestic terrorism to get a customer response, the short is a constant stream of absurdist humor whose moments of deadpan only further highlight just how true the corporate satire angle rings.
On the production side, Leaf Me Alone is far from glossy; but what for other films may come off cheap or amateurish, Leaf Me Alone manages to make organic. The medium-shot heavy, neutral-lit direction gives the film a hyper realistic feel rather than a cinematic one. One always feels like they're right there in the room with the characters, witnessing the leaves of this hilariously inept company desperately flow in the wind.
At just over 22 minutes sans credits, Leaf Me Alone is a quick, easy watch that's dense with jabs at the clueless services and companies we've all come across. The themes will ring true, & the jokes will land well, for anyone who's ever experienced what at the time feels like the worst customer service in the world.
#supportindiefilm.