DECEMBER 17, 2024
In the director’s statement, Zach Daulton says that his goal in film is to inspire and encourage the people around him: "I want to tell unique stories that people can resonate with and will stay with them for a long time. I believe in the power of story, and what it can do in a person's life.” And this is exactly what he does in 'Mayfield'.
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'Mayfield' is one of those movies we would like to put in our very special category of „must watch shorts in a lifetime” because all of the things this short presents in less than twenty minutes is a perfect mix of visual poetry, touching soundtrack, impeccable editing and divine acting. We really tried to find weak spots in Daulton’s short and it was nearly impossible to find any flaws.
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First of all, the story has some great “new French drama” influences, easily found in contemporary writers like Matei Visniec. The plot is quite simple: James Mayfield is an actor and for the past years he performed the same one man show night after night. He enjoyed doing this as this exercise was triggering his memories which were very important to him. One day, he is closing his show and everything he remembered and the reality he was living in takes an important turn.
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The dialogue is very profound and gives the audience thrills down the spine. The score is very good and adequate, setting the perfect atmosphere.
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Also, the overall editing and mood of 'Mayfield' is something many directors should look up to, because rarely we have the chance to see a movie that goes this natural. The acting is impeccable, the main character, John Adrian Riley is doing a great job impersonating a problematic character. The way James Mayfield's ongoing story starts: “this is the story of the day that I died” is very common in literature and in many cases sets the bar of the narrative somewhere up.
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A festival like ours needs a movie like 'Mayfield' once in a while, because this kind of artistry reminds us what life looks like on screen and how simple it is to make a great short with minimal resources and talented individuals.
Review written by Vlad A.G