dereksbryan Review of Lovers, Liars and Lunatics

Lovers, Liars and Lunatics (2006)

Well paced farce, with tragedy waiting in the wings.

[8/10 · 18 December 2006]

This is a well-balanced, carefully timed farce, with tragedy waiting in the wings. The casting has been done with care, and the warring family at the centre are very believable. Amber has written a story that shows her left-field imagination at its best, and as a director shows that she can handle a full crew as well as anyone. Her editing produces a pace that is well-balanced and pulls you into the story before racing you along. Amber's role is another tough one to pull off successfully because the character is not driving the situation. For me this is when you see an actor at their best. As the bullied and abused side-kick Amber is painfully convincing: at times you'll feel like comforting her, or kicking the boyfriend's butt. Independent movies are hard to finance, and Amber has worked like a Trojan to raise the funds for a full crew, and production schedule, even getting money from her fans. Not only does Amber write, direct, edit, produce and star, she also sticks the labels on the envelopes when you buy the DVD. This is an A+ effort and I look forward to seeing Amber Benson's mainstream directorial debut in the near future.