The Upper Footage
When the Blair Witch project came out, a lot of people were leaving the cinemas appalled, disgusted and in tears. The marketing campaign had done a pretty good job in setting it up to be as realistic as possible, with rumours flying around schools and bars. “Oh my god, they have released this footage of supernatural murders and it’s supposedly terrifying,” that’s what wagged on the mouths up until the filmmakers announced that it was all a rouse. It certainly did its job, and better than that, reaped money into an independent feature that utterly scary.
So recent independent flick The Upper Footage hopes to do the same, marketing the whole premise as actual footage of a death that was covered up by press. While it is now proven fake after a bit of backlash, The Upper Footage revolves around the death of missing socialite teen Jessica Spearo. After dying on a night out with other over privileged young adults, her subsequent overdose is covered up and the body was never recovered. Now, after years of speculation, the family have released the footage that has gripped the nation so her killers can be unmasked.
The Upper Footage may be fake but boy, does director Justin Cole do an excellent job of making it reel? Adding a set-up with news reels, websites and reports, the entire premise is unnervingly tangible allowing the audience reaction waver other the truth. Sometimes this effect is absorbing. Indeed, when the footage drops the performances make a large impact. The players here do a pretty spot on job of creating unlikeable characters that go on to do something awful. The whole idea of how a night out for the rich and banal can quickly turn sour and people in these positions fail to get prosecuted is done alarmingly well. It feels real and at the really excellent points it’s enticing.
It’s a shame then that The Upper Footage suffers from long, intense and often boring shots. The feel of the found footage aspect is its saving grave and its Achilles heel. While having a couple of minutes on the floor staring at the hair of a corpse is admirably realistic, it doesn’t do much to hold your attention. And there are too many moments like this. Not to mention, the events leading up to Spearo’s death drag on longer than needed which effectively makes you like the characters less and less (though, one could argue that that is the point.)
There is also the dangling possibilities of making it a heightened comment on media and how media protects the powerful. Adding to the breifly touched upon theme that entertainment outlets exploit deaths, The Upper Footage could easily become a brilliant and poignant satirical thriller that points fingers. Unfortunately, the focus is more on the video tapes and therefore lose the excellent mockumentary start. Nevertheless, for those who are fans of the format and want to divulge in how bad a cocaine fuelled lifestyle can get, then this is a more than passable drama.
But it may not be for people with short attention spans.
TTFN
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