Tasked with documenting the end of life as we know it, 51 Degrees tells the story of Damon Miller (Moritz von Zeddelmann), a YouTube sensation whose life is changed forever after he takes a job for the UK Space Agency making a film about the very REAL threat of asteroids.
With an increasing number of independent films choosing the Blair Witch style of film making it’s no surprise that 51 Degrees chooses this route. I’ll admit I was a true love of this style and Cloverfield blew me away, but I’m seen it a little too often and its getting tired. 51 Degrees infuses a little bit of character to this tired style by adding in CCTV footage, but also by incorporating a voiceover featuring the voice of our protagonist’s son from a post-apocalyptic world, but unfortunately doesn’t build on it enough. Throughout the film Damon’s son discusses the footage and his mother’s relationship with his father but never really tells us why and at the films conclusion I almost expected to see some vision of the future, but was left with nothing. Whilst unsure of the reason CCC(The Director) chose this path it certainly adds to the mystery of the whole film, which is a hallmark of this type of film-making, but it left me with an empty feeling that I don’t think added to the experience.
The performance of Zeddelmann is pretty good. His character is flawed enough to be real and he takes on the role well. None of the other characters make a huge impact on the film and so it’s difficult for me to judge them, but there isn’t really a striking performance from any cast members. A lot of production value has definitely gone into this film with the music even arranged by Queen’s Brian May. A particular scene of apocalyptic terror filmed in Leicester Square must not have only been expensive, but difficult to film with a huge number of (presumably volunteer) extras. However this scene is a real credit to DIRECTOR and all involved, it was beautifully worked and more realistic than what you seen in many big budget Hollywood blockbusters.
Overall, this is a very watchable and enjoyable film. It’s nothing to write home about and I won’t be on the lookout for any particular names as a result, but it’s a perfect 90 minutes and although a little slow to start you won’t be left thinking about the ironing you should be doing.
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