“X” the Movie

Not to be confused with the 2022 film by Ti West, let’s start with the trailer for “X”, marketing itself as a ‘mix of melodrama, thriller and camp,’ which is giving you more than I chose to go on before watching the debut film by Scott J. Ramsey and produced by The Foundation–an independent production company founded by Ramsey, producer Hannah Katherine Jost and producer Kevin De Nicolo.

OK, I’m gonna live-blog this movie, in a stream of conscious kinda way because I have no idea what this is about and I like Hitchcockian twists and turns.

Visually, ‘X’ delivers from the first frame. It looks good, sounds good, and the color-post is good. I should begin by saying that Eyes Wide Shut is among my top three favorite Kubrick films – not because I think it is one of his three best, but because it is one of my favorites – mainly from its utterly bizarre tone, Sidney Pollack’s incredible performance, the set design of the masked ball, and the weirdness of a London Soundstage for New York.

As we get going, ‘X’ is generally well-acted, posted, and realized. Taking place in a house that, from my own experience is likely in the Sunset Hills of Hollywood.

A fancy title introduces us to Act 2. I really can’t talk about specifics because it would all be spoilers. But I can say that the always-tough-to-master-middle-of-the-movie is cumbersome. The beguiling and mysterious madame of the party suddenly becomes less intriguing with the house lights on. We are given her inner monologue as a ham-fisted tool for further exposition. The sound mix is now distractingly conspicuous. The non-diegetic music is meekly low in the mix. All the intrigue and tension of the 1st act is diffused.

In the end, I feel like I have invested in a 90-minute TV movie of Rear Window for the YA market. By the middle of the second act I’m pretty checked out; scenes about making cookies, vacuuming floors, expositing about whatever is going on, just dragging on. The dubby dialogue becomes too much for me to deal with. Yes, out of respect to the filmmakers I watch on.

The anticipated big twist comes at the end of a little rope of mini twists. I have to give the film points for originality. Though the audio production leaves a lot to be desired…look – I feel terrible picking at these sorts of issues – because what matters here is that someone made a full-length feature film, and tried stuff. Sometimes it is awkward, and ham-fisted and about as sharp a scone. But there are moments.

I don’t know if I can recommend this film in good conscience, but for those seeking the slightly avante-garde, fans of Lynch, Kubrick, A24, Houston may find some diversion in seeing things stylistic nods. I hate reviewing films sometimes, because sometimes I have to say mean things, and I want to support indies, but it does no good if I’m writing sycophantic, apologetic puff pieces, so, take it as it came to me, and how I received it.

Congratulations for getting the film in the can, and in front of a reviewer who watched it all the way through.