Review of The Leisure Class (2012) by Stanislaw K — 16 Nov 2015

Leisure Class was a disappointing movie. I was hoping that Project Greenlight finally had a gem that came out of the series. Especially with Jason Mann expressing his constant desire of doing something well that consistently butted heads with the studio's persistence of "just get it done". Unfortunately this was not the case as the film was rife with so many flaws from the get-go. First and foremost, the script.

The script was sorely missing context. I could not relate to the tension between the two brothers because there was absolutely no sense of history, no context, between the two prior to them meeting in the film. I had absolutely no sense as when was the last time the two were together. Obviously, they separated on bad terms. At least, from William's point of view but without us really knowing this, it was really hard to care. Then the entire rest of the movie felt like it was just an exercise in long form improvisation. There was absolutely nothing compelling about the dialogue and it simply did not drive the story. Instead, it simply changed the concept of The Leisure Class into something less than what it intended. At least what I was hoping for. Shame on me for having such high expectations.

Another issue I had was the inconsistent or should I say consistent continuity errors especially in that opening reception scene. The opening scene appears to have been shot just at end of golden hour. Then another scene, a few minutes later appeared to be at the peak of the afternoon with the sun blasting through. Lighting was a major issue and it was glaringly obvious.

I get how tough it is especially with so many restrictions both financially and creatively. I know Jason has capabilities to do great work. It was clearly obvious in his submission videos. Unfortunately, most of what was interesting in Jason's work in those videos were lost in the movie.

However, I believe Jason will come around and start making great movies. It is just a shame that his close-to-the-heart movie didn't quite live up to expectation. But I am still a fan of Project Greenlight!