Dir. Neil Oseman, 2005, UK, 98 min
Cast: Ray Bullock Jnr, Katrina Cooke, Lara Greenway, Chris Hatherall, Jonny Lewis, A.J. Nicol, Richard Brake
Review by Oli Lewington
Neil Oseman may very well be some kind of genius. It’s hard to say exactly what kind he may be, but there is no doubt that somewhere under an array of shockingly awful haircuts, there is a spark of something extraordinary. Or at least out of the ordinary. Let’s be blunt about this: Soul Searcher is not a great movie; it’s not even a good movie. The plot is riddled with holes from the start and becomes ever more bizarre and non-nonsensical as it ploughs relentlessly forward. The acting is wooden at best and dire at worst, not helped by some of the clunkiest dialogue heard since the screen-tests for Star Wars.
But – listen closely because this is the key – the DVD, lovingly prepared over an unimaginably long period of time by Oseman himself, then picked up for distribution by the folks at Wysiwyg Films, is an absolute must-have for any full-on film fan or wannabe filmmaker in the country.
What Oseman is all about, and what makes this film and package so unique, is making low-budget British flicks with a commercial sensibility.
Far from paying heed to the calling which influences many low-budget filmmakers to turn out kitchen-sink dramas or Lock, Stock… rip offs, this is high-concept all the way. And while it’s not entirely successful in this incarnation, this is exactly the kind of filmmaking that the British film industry should be championing. Oseman is a filmmaker we should all be throwing our support behind.
One of the most remarkable achievements of the movie is just how good it manages to make digital look. Shot with the average prosumer gear that is fast becoming synonymous with no-budget, home-movie-finish tat that so often passes for British movie making, Oseman manages to deliver an almost luxurious filmic finish. On the DVD extras he expands in detail about his approach and lighting set-up to achieve his effects.
And that is the crux of the matter. The Soul Searcher package is about so much more than the movie. With the 90-minute film, the disc contains nearly double that in added extras, from in-depth looks at how the film came about, the nightmare shoot, the ingenious (if highly suspect, often nigh-on laughable) effects work and close-up looks at several sequences. There are also commentaries, masterclasses and stills.
While the film may not stand up to detailed critical scrutiny, Oseman is more than willing to share his mistakes with fellow filmmakers to help others achieve what he has, without making the same slip-ups or oversights he did.
In the same way that Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi became a DVD must-have for the filmmaker’s detailed and inspirational commentary and infamous 10-Minute Film School, so Soul Searcher has the potential to provide just such a boost to the British industry and filmmakers nationwide.
Keep your eyes very firmly peeled for the next project from the wonderful world inside Oseman’s head, because if he can do this with tuppence ha’penny, the possibilities, should he be given real money to play with, are seemingly endless.
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