Shuffle (Kurt Kuenne, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Sandra Andersson. Viewed at Santa Barbara Film Festival

One of the best things about going to Santa Barbara Film Festival is that you get to see a films you usually wouldn’t go and see, for me Shuffle is a one of those films. When I walked in to the theatre I didn’t know what to expect and when I came out I was really glad I went, the film surprised me in so many ways. Shuffle is not a blockbuster, that’s not what the director Kurt Kuenne went for when he started making the film, it’s a low-budget film and most of the cast members are friends. The film is unique with it’s take on black and white, lighting and the unpredictable story.

In Shuffle we meet Lovell Milo(TJ Thyne), an ordinary man whose life suddenly gets turned up side down. Everyday Lovell wakes up at a different age, at a different place without any chronological order or a clue about what is happening to him. He doesn’t remember anything from his life before this started to happened, his sudden change in life makes him terrified and he just wants it to stop. Eventually Lovell discovers a pattern in what is happening to him, and with that he’s trying to figure out what is happening to him, why and out to get away from it.

The first thing you notice when the film starts and what is so surprising is that Shuffle is in black and white. This is a big part of the film, as it sets the tone of the film and it wouldn’t have been the same film if they chose color instead. Shuffle is not the only film in 2011 that was made in black and white, The Artist(Michel Hazanavicius, 2011) which became one of the biggest films 2011 is also in black and white. Is there possibly a black and white trend coming in the film industry right know?

The black and white combined with the lighting are what makes the film stand out. The lighting in the film is very low-key, there are shadows everywhere, darkness hiding peoples faces, this gives the film a mysterious look and makes it feel like a Film Noir which is known for it’s low-key lighting.

Even though Shuffle is a low-budget film it’s amazing and very well done, unfortunately the film only had one screening at SBIFF in a small theatre and several people didn’t get a seat and had to turn around and miss this great film. I hope Shuffle gets a theatrical release so everyone gets the chance to see the film, it was definitely worth the time seeing it.