There’re few worse feelings in this world than depending upon someone who is clearly unreliable and uninterested in helping you. When you need someone to come through and they’re, shall we say, unable to do so, it can drive someone to the brink of madness and beyond. Audouin Rascovsky’s quirky The Editing is an exercise in the hell that is knowing you’re fucked despite the answer to all your problems being right in front of you but unfortunately in the hands of a complete lunatic.
Boris and Larry have a bit of a problem. They took a loan from some gangsters in order to fund the production of a film by apparent wunderkind John Von Kubrick, an eccentric and starry-eyed director who claims to be the great grandnephew of Stanley Kubrick. Boris and Larry’s problem is that Von Kubrick has disappeared and the gangsters are calling for their money. Thus, Rascovsky takes us down a charming but infuriating rabbit hole that you will find all too relatable, something that feels like the bastard offspring of the Coen Brothers and Christopher Guest.
All cards on the table, this film might feel like an acquired taste at first. At just over an hour, Rascovsky does a lot with a little and paces the film appropriately. That being said, this movie cruises along with very little down time. It can be a bit overwhelming at times. And Reece Mitchell’s performance as the enigmatic John Von Kubrick is so appropriate that it grates on the nerves. Which, while I suppose is the point, can get old really quick if you’re not expecting it. These two aspects work well to create a manic atmosphere, but it can be a bit much. Karl Kennedy Williams and James Campbell as Boris and Larry respectively do a fantastic job of drawing the audience in and immersing them in the quiet nightmare the film creates, with Williams giving Boris an increasingly unhinged and infuriated quality while Campbell’s Larry is far more terrified than anything else. Combined, these two characters embody exactly how one would feel in this situation, and they go a long way towards making the film palatable.
The Editor might not be for everyone, but it’s absolutely worth a watch. And if it is for you, you’re in for quite a treat.
