Item: Still Life
Author: Leah Gage

Still Life

Rated: Not Rated

Prefer to listen rather than read? Listen Here!

No matter whom you are, or what you do in life, criticism is hard to take. We all try hard to live up to expectations, be them your own, or someone else’s. We also all have feelings of doubt at times. We think things like, “It’s good, but it’s not good enough,” or “I’ll never be able to make one as good as hers (or his).” Thoughts and feelings like these are common, no matter what, specifically, you’re working on or have made. The trick is in either ignoring these thoughts altogether, or overcoming them. As with anything, this takes time, but the result is a confidence in your work that will shine through.

In dealing with criticism in any form, it is important to remember that (for the most part, anyways) the person criticizing is trying to help. They’ve been through the same things and are attempting to share what they’ve learned to help you grow, both personally and professionally. Does it sting sometimes to hear these things? Of course! If it didn’t you wouldn’t be human. But getting past the sting and focusing on the advice within is what helps us to grow and improve.

David Graziano as Prof. Lynch in Still Life (Photo courtesy of Chris Esper)

        Filmmaker Chris Esper has made a film that highlights these feelings of inadequacy, and shows that criticism is nothing to fear, with the short Still Life. The film follows Martin, a photography student who’s in the midst of a blossoming photography career. The reoccurring lines that dominate his life, and thoughts are, “It’s good, but…” and “I really liked this, but…” Sound familiar?

        Although Still Life is a film of only 11 minutes, sixteen seconds long, it packs an emotional wallop. Chris has done a phenomenal job portraying what it feels like to receive criticism, especially when you’re someone who is just starting out in life. The main character, Martin, is swimming in a sea of self-doubt, and begins to feel inadequate in his career choice as the film goes on.

        While watching it I couldn’t help but think about my own experiences in dealing with criticism. It brought back the feelings of “no matter what I do it’s never good enough”, which of course is where the self-doubt cycle begins.

Timothy Bonavita as Martin in Still Life (Photo courtesy of Chris Esper)

Certainly, one of the hallmarks of a great film is the film’s ability to make you think and feel something. Still Life is great in that it does both. It makes you feel, not only for the character and his struggles, but for yourself and your own life experiences. It gets you thinking about how you handle criticism and whether or not that’s an area of your life that could use some improvement. Chris Esper has managed to create a gem of a little film that’s more than worth the time it takes to watch it!

Still Life is not rated, was written, directed and much more by Chris Esper and stars Timothy Bonavita and David Graziano.

You can find more information about Still Life and Chris Esper here:

· Still Life on Youtube

· Still Life on IMDB

· Stories in Motion Website

· Chris Esper on IMDB

· Chris Esper on Twitter