Review of Life and Nothing More (2018) by Brendenelliott — 22 Feb 2019

The ambitions of this film are likely keeping Walter Murch up at night, and I mean that in the best possible way. Antonio Mendez Esparza’s direction defies traditional editing techniques, where Murch originally stated that a film’s cuts should coincide with the blinking of all audience members in a dark theater.

If this holds true, then you better bring eye drops with you to Life and Nothing More! Esparza is seemingly insistent that long takes are the norm in his newest drama piece, which only adds realism to a film that is already brutally honest in its depiction of low-income life in the U.

S. Life and Nothing More is the crème de la crème of modern experimental film for its willingness to challenge traditional cinematic conventions.