Highly creative efforts impress me, even if the content of the creativity is not something that I'd normally enjoy. Solitary Fracture is a highly creative movie done essentially by one person: Filmmaker Deniz Michael wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and wrote the score for his first film. It is a labour of love, and it shows.
Solitary Fracture depicts the breakdown of a single individual, and it is unique in that there is only a single character shown in the film. The character interacts verbally with a bunch of personalities who contribute to his breakdown. The story is told in a "jagged" manner where bits of the story are spliced together and transitions between bits can be abrupt. This is an effective technique given the subject matter of the film.
Even though this could be called a low-budget independent production, the level of professionalism associated with the film is very high. The lighting, the camera work, and the soundtrack are excellent. This is no The Blair Witch Project by any means (and I mean that as a compliment)--this is a well-made and thought-provoking film.
To keep the viewer interested, Deniz uses a lot of clever tricks to convey his message. For example, gradual slowing down of a scene to illustrate the monotony of being a corporate cog or life in society. A technique of overlapping repetition of scenes and voices is used create a impression of urgency. The music also is very engaging. The pacing could've been better. Overall, judging by this film alone, Deniz's strengths lie in directing and scoring.
After having done nearly six hundred movie reviews, I stopped reviewing them (I assign numerical ratings instead). Solitary Fracture is the first film in more than a year that has compelled me to put a review up, and I didn't do this as an obligation. At the time of writing, Deniz will mail you a copy for a dollar. I highly recommend checking the film out.