Electric Shades of Grey (Video 2001)

Electric Shades of Grey: Directed by Terry Merrill, William Grefé. With John Darrell, Carolyn Hall, Joe Crane, Ken Keckler. A priest sheds his habit, tunes in, turns on and drops out for a road trip that will change his life and bring him sorrow. Filmed in 1971 but not released until 2001.

“This is newb writer and director Ferdinando Cito Filomarinou0026#39;s first full length feature film, with five previous short films. And Iu0026#39;m thinking this one shouldu0026#39;ve been a short as well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe 108 min runtime was way too long with more filler than substance, then add the slow pacing, and you get bored real quick. Had this film been based on actual events – and filmed verbatim, then I may have given it at least one more star, but the fact this was a fictional story, so much more couldu0026#39;ve been done – such as adding some excitement.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere were moments of tension and suspense, but the cat and mouse game is nothing new, and this one was just more dull in general, and got stale real quick. I did like the setting in Greece, but again, I think more couldu0026#39;ve been done with that.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe entire opening scene and the relationship with Alicia Vikander (and her minimal screen time) was overwritten, while the rest of the story and its themes were underwritten and, well, dull. The ending also seemed too rushed compared to the guts of the story from the start. A lot more action and suspense wouldu0026#39;ve gone a long way in this film. However, his story execution was well thought out, with great scene transitions and coherent themes and plot.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFilomarinou0026#39;s directing, camera work, and directing his cast was actually decent. Performances were on point, although Washingtonu0026#39;s character cried a little too much for a guy that jumps 5 floors off a parking garage. The score was actually amazing and fitting, especially for a B film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHad Filomarino trimmed off about 20 mins, and/or consulted a seasoned writer to add some u0026quot;opa!u0026quot; into his screenplay, this film couldu0026#39;ve been great. Nevertheless, for a newb filmmaker, he should be proud of his first full length feature.”