Writer-director Joe Aliberti makes films that challenge his audience and promote debate. Featurette is no different in its stripped back examination of the creative process, as an up-and-coming actor captures himself on smartphone ahead of a bit-part breakthrough at his local multiplex.
Through a combination of fly-on-the-wall stylings and an obnoxious on-screen performance from producer and lead actor Anthony Carvello (Sam), this concise piece of cinema delves into identity, dives beneath the surface of creative insecurities and addresses ego.
Through the selective use of dream sequences, Aliberti makes a clear distinction between reality and fantasy as Sam drifts between states of being. That his unconscious deals in self-delusion with billboards announcing imminent blockbusters, while reality offers up an altogether more sobering take, Featurette comes across as a seemingly subtle critique of social media obsessions, and an unhealthy need for adulation from an Instagram lite audience.
On the other end of this equation is his girlfriend Jilly (Amanda McCants) who may embrace those preoccupations, but crucially lives in a world free from aspirational self-delusion. In opposition to Carvello and his exaggerated portrayal of conceited entitlement, McCants is understated and empowered in equal measure. As Sam descends into an ego-driven meltdown and starts to unravel once his bubble is inevitability burst, Jilly goes in the other direction experiencing an epiphany that changes her opinions permanently.
Given the limited locations, Featurette is efficient if not entirely effective at exploring Aliberti’s chosen topics this time around. Softball felt inherently more ambitious, undeniably broader in scope and packs a harder punch emotionally. There is a sense that with more resources this film would have swung for the fences in its dissection of social obsessions, hammering home ideas that are barely unpacked in this current incarnation.
There is potential here that goes by almost unnoticed as the central performance isolates audiences from having an emotional investment. That conceited demeanour and arrogant condescension goes too far in defining Sam on-screen, meaning any redeeming qualities coming through from elsewhere are overlooked.
Whether or not the filmmaker saw him as an embodiment of artistic extremes run wild, or Carvello felt his performance would possess more power by grandstanding is up for debate. Unfortunately, whatever those high hopes might have been in the beginning, what ends up tarnishing this film comes down to that character and the impact he makes throughout.
Featurette might start out as a concise and clever piece of filmmaking, that blends seamless dream sequences with pertinent points on the power of creative ambition, but it gets sidetracked and undermined by an over-indulgent central performance that distracts to the point of indifference.
Featurette is available to stream on YouTube now.
