Fantasia Review: Black Pond (2011)

As of late, the dark comedy genre for both films and television has no doubt been catching on in North America, but it's clear that Europe continues to reign as the masters as it consistently delivers fresh new takes takes on the style. Black Pond, directed by Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe, is one of the newest editions to the dark comedy collection that tells the story of the events that lead up to the moment where the Thompson family and friend are accused of murdering a man who was a guest in their home.With fantastic acting that delivered the quirky script so wonderfully, this is a film that will no doubt please fans of the genre. 

The film was composed in a way where we get inter-cuts showing the characters being interviewed, as well as the events leading up to how the man they were accused of murdering, Blake, dies. The film also has a small part of it dedicated to the aftermath of what happened, six months later. This scene is where the most obvious moments of comedy is added when Tim (Will Sharpe) tries to cope with his stress by visiting a psychiatrist (Simon Amstell). The psychiatrist, who is played by a relatively famous comedian, simply finds all of Tim's existence hilarious (even his name), and the interaction between the two is most definitely the more obvious use comedy throughout the film.

The other uses of comedy were extremely subtle. In many instances, if you're not paying attention or listening to everything the characters are saying, you'll miss the joke. For the most part, the film is trying to be as realistic as possible in both its directing and editing, but there are a few instances where they break away from that realism to remind the audience that this is a piece of fiction. On account of that, in most cases the delivery of every line was extremely deadpan and flows in with every other line. This made the jokes that the that the characters were saying even funnier, but the price is that paying attention to the dialogue is extremely important. 

This is a style that will not appeal to everyone. The whole film is slow moving, and if you don't end up interested by the story at the beginning, it'll be hard to really absorb yourself in the comedy later on. The film is roughly 80 minutes long, but it spends about 40 of those minutes on exposition. It spends a lot of time establishing the quirks in the family as well as their unhappiness. It creates the atmosphere where you truly feel a strained relationship with every character. Although creating the mood took half the film to do, it's worth for the actual delivery of the jokes in the next half, which wouldn't have had much of an effect without the proper set up. 

Though, this film did have more to it than just dark comedy. There were a few instances where just the drama took the front wheel. In the instance of Blake, this story created around the loss of a wife and how he isn't completely there now was created. He had a light to him that a detached family admired, and so, they did want him to be happy. Moments like this, are where the story went more towards near the end, and if you gave the film the attention it needed and appreciated the development of both the story and characters, it leads to an end that was a very satisfying conclusion. 

In all, if you have the patience to allow this film to set up its character and story, it will reward you with its second half. With its sharp and clever wit, as well as its own unique style, Black Pond manages to roll in with its own quiet storm that makes for a memorable experience.