Sisyphus Unbound | Average Guy Movie Review

Virgil, a college writing student, hopes to have his latest story published, but he must first get over one major hurdle before his work gets out to the world, his mercurial writing professor Richard Laymen.

Sisyphus Unbound proves to be the perfect title for this oddly relatable and rather compelling tale of student and teacher - and yes, I did have to look up who Sisyphus was (Greek mythology is definitely not my strong suit). We've all had at least one teacher who seemed to have it in for us, or at the very least we didn't like. Now this may be an extreme example, but it's a role that Timothy J. Cox seems to revel in, because there is something delightfully despicable in his portrayal of the evil professor. While - in complete contrast - Frederick J. Todd turns Virgil into a kind of hero of the downtrodden. It would have been easy for Todd to play Virgil in a way that makes him appear a little pathetic. Instead he makes it about a man finding his voice, and his courage.

With less than 8 minutes to work with, writer/director Ryan Flemming utilises every second to build this rather tense relationship in a single scene which takes the form of a student/teacher meeting. With Cox doing a brilliant 'lord of all I survey' monologue, it doesn't take long for you to start rooting for Virgil. In fact, it is surprisingly stirring, especially for a short film. Forget Sisyphus! It's Virgil who should be unbound. Unbound from this twat of a teacher with a god complex. Unfortunately while Virgil and Laymen lock horns - or at least one tries to escape the other - Emerson Adams' Gwen is for the most part on the outside looking in, before becoming a tool in this battle of wills. That said, she does deliver a wonderful performance that clearly demonstrates how different a person can be at home and at work.

A surprisingly stirring short film. Undoubtedly one we can all relate to, at least in some way. The three fantastic performances really draw you into the drama, so much so that by the end of it you will be rooting for Virgil's success... and a swift kick in the ass for Professor Laymen.

9/10

What did you think of Sisyphus Unbound? Leave a comment below or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can also email us at moviemoustache@gmail.com.

Comments

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning | Average Guy Movie Review

Two months after acquiring both halves of the cruciform key, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is ready to put an end to the Entity, once and for all. However, in that time the rogue A.I. has increased its stranglehold on cyber space and the planet. Spreading lies and misinformation, the people of the world are divided more than ever, and governments are on high alert. All of which should make it rather difficult, maybe even impossible for Ethan and his team to find a sunken Russian submarine and, use whatever they find there to kill the artificial intelligence that's slowly taking control of the world's nuclear arsenals. It is entirely possible that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning could be the most anxiety inducing instalment of the franchise - the second half, anyway. Once again, Tom Cruise puts himself through the absolutely ludicrous in the name of entertainment... and a possible adrenaline addiction. Every scenario in which Ethan and the gang find themselves seems to be d...

Jason Bourne: Spoiler Review

I don't usually write spoiler filled reviews because I don't see the point. But considering my not so positive review of Jason Bourne, one of the most highly anticipated movies of Summer 2016, I thought it might be worth trying to explain why I reached the verdict I did. If you haven't seen this movie stop reading because there are spoilers ahead. Click here to see the spoiler free review. The movie begins with Bourne in Greece. He's laying low, making money by competing in underground fights and still struggling with his past. He lacks purpose which is making him miserable. Nicky Parsons on the other hand is busy hacking the CIA in order to expose their black ops programs. So far so good. But when Nicky finds something out about Jason's (or should I say David's) past, she heads to Greece to find him. Unfortunately her activities have drawn the attention of CIA Agent Heather Lee (Alicia Vikander), a cyber ops specialist who begins to track her. Using a ...

American Assassin | Average Guy Movie Review

When his girlfriend is killed in a terrorist attack, Mitch Rapp (Dylan O'Brien) goes in search of vengeance. His activities soon draw the attention of the CIA and Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) who decides to recruit Rapp. Kennedy sends him to the Orion Group - a black ops unit - where he'll be trained by Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton), a former Navy Seal and the team leader. On Rapp's first mission, Orion are tasked with finding missing plutonium and the American (Taylor Kitsch) who has it, a man Hurley trained. The movie is based on the 11th book in the series by Vince Flynn. I can't say how closely it follows the book, but this is one of those spy movies where the spies do very little spying before shooting up the place, combined with a typical trainer/trainee story in which the trainer continues to doubt the trainee until he proves himself in the third act. As a generic action movie it's fine, the fight scenes are well choreographed and O...

Search This Blog