Ivan Kander
Innovative in structure and unpredictable in tone, Sloan Hearts Neckface is a film that is gloriously difficult to classify: is it a romantic comedy? A twee romance? A dramedy about two lonely New Yorkers seeking connection? An escalating series of revenge-fueled tit for tat? All of the above?
The biggest compliment I can give to Director Justin Fair’s film (penned by Ian Grody) is that it constantly kept me guessing—a series of chain letters passed from character to character, each pushing things into a new direction, peeling back the onion with each new reply. As soon as the film settles into a rhythm (quirky romance!), it figures out a way to disrupt the flow (backstabbing one upmanship!) The result is compelling throughout and showcases a deft juggling act of tones.
Part of the film’s appeal is its unconventional structure: as opposed to standard movie “scenes” the entire film is told via voiceover as letters are passed back and forth between the central players. It feels a bit gimmicky and twee at the start, but around halfway through, I really came to admire the cleverness of this approach. By only hearing words, we are only getting the story from a singular point of view, and as such, there’s plenty of room for the characters to play with deceit and literally lie to the audience. I was completely on board when the film introduces a third party (played expertly by the always great Isiah Whitlock Jr.) to the letter-writing triangle. One unreliable narrator? Pffft…try three!
The ever-impressive Isiah Whitlock Jr in Sloan Hearts Neckface
Even if you were to strip away the inherent cleverness, I do think the film has more substantive things underneath the hood. It’s a quintessential New York film—the setting is an integral component to the character dynamics and visual sensibility (the entire film feels like shots and locations were “stolen” and I mean that in the best of ways). At its core, this is a story about people searching for connection in the most populated city in the world. New York is truly unique in that you can be surrounded by literally thousands of people at any given second, yet still feel so alone. Director Fair and writer Grody tap into that melancholy, and bolster it with a truly dark and twisted comedic sensibility. After all, Sloan and Neckface are both isolated loners trapped in the urban jungle of the Big Apple; it makes sense that they’d forge such a strange and symbiotic relationship. Two broken and profane sickos finding each other? They sure don’t make romantic comedies like they used to…
Sloan Hearts Neckface played Tribeca in 2020 and was awarded the best live action short honorable mention at the Cleveland International Film Festival. We’re excited to finally be able to share it online.