A Glimpse: Review

24th October 2019

A Glimpse: Review. By Matt Keay.

In your single days, did you ever mentally manufacture an entire relationship with someone you had only just met? Did you concoct heady tableaux of sexual prowess? Did you invent a life with this person, when all you knew was their name?

Coming off as something of a budget Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, A Glimpse is a peek into the potential relationship of two Londoners, Jess and Alex (Rachel Shenton and Chris Overton, who collaborated as writer and director on the Oscar-winning 2017 short film, The Silent Child).

This time around, it is Tom Turner’s direction which follows the young lovers as they move through the emotional ups and downs of a blossoming relationship. Told in quick flash-forward as Jess and Alex traverse their initial conversation, we are allowed a look into their time together, as somewhat of a highlights reel. Jess and Alex tackle the possible issues of embarking on a relationship during their meet-cute (a low phone charge crisis, the ultimate first world problem), in a tongue-in-cheek back and forth.

A Glimpse is effective as a fun ‘what if’, but fails to engage much beyond the opening couple of minutes, when it is clear which route the piece is taking, which takes away from the ending, which isn’t anywhere near as resolute or clever as it appears the filmmakers wanted it to be. In addition to the aforementioned Eternal Sunshine, the idea explored here has been touched on in multiple other media, such as Sliding Doors and even Inside No. 9.

However, a concession must be made for both the innovative way in which the device is put forward, and the naturalistic performances from Shenton and Overton, which are entirely convincing, and a world away from the timber-framed scene-chewing of most Hollyoaks acting that the former cut her teeth amidst.

As a curio, or an update on Shenton and Overton’s burgeoning career in filmmaking, A Glimpse is worth checking out, but as a memorable piece of cinema a glimpse might be all you need.

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