Drifting between Joshua's attempts to deal with the loss of his sister through writing and Mallory having what could be the worst day of her life, this curious short film offers an interesting perspective on their two lives. One reminiscent of Morpheus' words to Neo in The Matrix about Dorothy; "tumbling down the rabbit hole". Yes, Director Emerson Adams certainly conjures some colourful imagery with this one! Strangely, for a film that handles themes such as grief and trauma in such a grounded and sensitive way, it also pulls off one hell of a magic trick. Rewriting Mallory starts off as one thing, essentially lulling you into a false sense of security, before jack-knifing your entire understanding of what's going on. A move that somehow adds to the intrigue without compromising the sensitivity of the piece.
Jonathan Erwin and Tammy Sanow are very engaging in the lead roles. Another stand-out is Timothy J. Cox as Mallory's boss, even if he isn't doing anything for the prestigiousness of the moustache. Remember Tim; "with great moustache, comes great responsibility"! Anyway, through very genuine performances the two leads draw you into their individual nightmares - both of which (for the most part) fall scarily within the realms of possibility. It's these performances that set you up so perfectly for the aforementioned jack-knife, when the movie lifts the curtain to reveal a whole new kind of nightmare. At which point Rewriting Mallory takes that question of control over our own lives to a whole new level. Imagine Stranger than Fiction meets The Matrix. Only it's some version of The Matrix (the actual construct the human race is plugged into, not the movie) we haven't seen before - one where the machines aren't in control. This, of course, raises more questions, which the movie rather sensibly avoids answering, leaving the viewer to decide what the hell is going on.
Is it a dream? Is it a nightmare? Or, to quote the late, great comedian and amateur philosopher Bill Hicks; is it the realisation "that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively"? Told you this one conjures some colourful imagery! Either way, Rewriting Mallory manages to be both oddly soothing and rather disconcerting, whilst presenting the viewer with one hell of a mystery to puzzle over.
8/10
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