Amanda Prager shows us an absurdist, over the top, and stylish take on a toxic relationship in her short film Seeing Other People. What starts as a typical dating scenario quickly turns magical, dangerous, and horrifying as a young woman, Anne, tries arguing with her hive-minded boyfriend, Jesse.
While the use of metaphor is certainly on the nose, the way in which Jesse represents a controlling and manipulative boyfriend with the use of his mystical powers is a great way of imagining real life problems in relationships. The film moves at a break-neck speed, with Jesse’s use of his powers constantly grabbing the viewers attention as he continually interrupts his girlfriend. While the film’s themes and the dialogue between the two may be simple, it’s the panache with which Prager and crew fills the frame with energy that makes this film stand out.
First and foremost, I cannot get over the lighting effects in this film, they are phenomenal. From the first shot we see our hero lit in a neon red, followed by the title crashing in with a bright neon green. With the one setting being at a bar, the lighting is easily controlled, and to great effect, as it continues to change with the mood of the conversation. The whole effect gives the film a fantastical feeling, with good reason, as Jesse repeatedly controls the bar patrons with a flashing green light from his finger, which is then shone through the hive-mind’s eyes. Jesse and Anne work great together as the captive and captor, the woman trying hard to get through to a man who won’t listen. Nick Marini does a proper job of inhabiting an insufferable freak with magical powers, playing “the nice guy” until the very end.
The pacing and the dialogue are skillful in the way that the woman is continually interrupted by Jesse and his hivemind, with Jesse ready to jump on whatever argument she’s about to spring. Again, and again she tries to shut Jesse down, but it’s impossible as he is always one step ahead, waiting to use any passing patron to try and distract her with something whimsical or horrible. This is all due to the masterly choreography at play, and not just during the dance sequence. (Yes! There is a dance sequence).
The use of the hive mind is eye-popping, with the extended cast and practical effects coming in handy as Jesse tries to make his grating points. Not only do the verbal cues from Jesse’s character work to prolong Anne’s ultimate breaking point, but the entire cast of bar patrons are utilized visually to step into frame at a moment’s notice. They drown her in baskets of fries, keep her sitting with an intense massage, and captivate her as they dance across the stage. It’s only when she finally gets through to Jesse with her proposal that things turn nasty.
Seeing Other People is both a relatable tale of a relationship gone wrong, and an imaginative, magically designed showcase of what can be done in filmmaking. The typical nice- guy-turned-bad story is elevated by Prager and her crew’s use of lighting, humor, and horror, creating a modern-day fable of toxic masculinity.
Seeing Other People screens as part of Shorts Program #3 at the Spring 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, February 9. The film will be Online for 24 Hours and In-Person at 7 PM in Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.
