Review – Everlasting (2016)
Anthony Stabley’s Everlasting has been on my radar for a while now, and as per tradition; it’s taken me an unreasonable amount of time to get to it.
While it hasn’t benefited from a major PR push, it has gained some ground from word-of-type on social media. And it’s also the kind of movie I live for. Largely off the radar, but carrying an interesting premise and themes.
The film follows Matt (Adam David) – a young man coming to terms with the unsolved murder of his girlfriend Jessie (Valentina de Angelis). As the case has gone cold, he documents his own investigation into her death through a series of vlogs; while simultaneously receiving taunting leads from someone who may or may not be her killer.
One thing I found particularly interesting about Everlasting is how it blends together different styles of film-making. While not a revolutionary approach, it almost seamlessly entwines Matt’s confessional moments with a series of beautifully shot set-pieces.
These initially focus on their intense love affair, before shifting to the final act of Jessie’s life as a model in LA, and later closing on the outcome of Matt’s investigation. The connective tissue here comes from a cross-country roadtrip, where we are privy to both a series of jaw-droppingly beautiful desert locations and the creeping erosion of their relationship.
What made Everlasting so compelling to me was how it blurs the line between perception and reality. ‘It’s like we were in some crazy-ass cartoon’ Matt declares, as he recalls a decadent party the couple attended before he was due to head home. There’s this sense that events are embellished throughout; though not as a result of dishonesty, rather a romanticised view of the world in both its lightest and darkest aspects.
Theirs is a grand tragedy. Jessie’s life in LA contrasts ideals of beauty and glamour against superficiality and ugly machinations. Matt wants to honour her memory and find closure, while simultaneously justifying his dangerous rush towards vengeance. Along the way we take in the couple’s goth clique, a repentant alcoholic mother, a brash and seedy photographer, Bai Ling’s hyper-sexual taste-maker and a killer (Michael Massee) who has nice line in grand, nihilistic pronouncements.
‘It’s easier to leave the people you love…before they leave you.’ As Jessie; de Valentina really carries off a heartbreaking portrayal of someone who’s impulsive, free-spirited nature is fueled by deep-seeded issues. And Adam David’s Matt is one of the most charismatic, sympathetic, yet ultimately obsessive characters I’ve ever seen on screen.
Everlasting’s score is potent and atmospheric, and the soundtrack includes input from many great acts including LA Vampires, Crystal Castles and Nick Gallant. Music is definitely one of the film’s greatest assets, providing great accompaniments to the underlying tension and curious wonder which courses through every scene.
My only real complaint with Everlasting is that some of the incidental characters carry little weight due to lacklustre performances. But beyond this, there’s very little for me to criticise. The film’s pacing is spot on – it doesn’t wear out it’s welcome, although the ending is not quite as satisfying as it could’ve been.
But this film has so many layers and details to chew on, and I’m so pleased to have discovered such a fascinating little gem. I don’t regret a single second I spent with Everlasting, and I will definitely be coming back to it in the future.
