Why Watch? Aggressively well-crafted, this short from Matt Spicer uses invasive sound and camera design to make a dull life maddening before kicking it over the edge. Gillian Jacobs plays a young woman trapped in a crushingly mundane existence with an out-of-work boyfriend (Fran Kranz), but when she lets things get out of hand, it’s time to pack some very special suitcases.
Everything here is first-rate, including the gut-punching comic story. Spicer and the team do something magical by using structured bits of disorientation to make the first shock pop like a starting pistol. From there it’s an intentionally jerky ride that alters the boring daily grind by erasing the rules.
It also treats the Falling Down-style outburst and its consequences with a guilty sense of humor, so you may need to train your face to drop its jaw and smile at the same time before you see it. While many short films strive to be visual punch lines, It’s Not You, It’s Me manages to pull off a handful while delivering great characters and chaotic atmosphere as a bonus.
What Will It Cost? About 9 minutes.