Lethargy (2002)

Summary

A young New Yorker lives in black and white but dreams in color.

Director

David Gelb, Joshua Safdie

Downey Factor

Cameo.

Character

A nameless animal therapist who briefly encounters the main character at a park bench.

Looks

He's seen mostly in tight shots, wearing a winter jacket and a hat. Not bad. Kind of plain.

Performance

Brief, quirky without trying too hard.

Dies, Gay or Villain

No, no, no.

Cast

David Gelb, Edward Burns

Time & Place

Present day (2002), New York.

Gossip

This short film was made by two high schoolers, one of them had parents who were friends with Robert Downey Jr and Edward Burns, which is why they were in it. Nev Shulman of Catfish fame, also in high school at the time, was one of the three crew members on this.

Availability

It was briefly released online but is no longer available. It used to be posted on this page, but the director threatened me with a copyright claim in 2007.

Does It Hold Up

Does anyone's high school film project hold up 20+ years later? After this, the two guys who made it went to film school and went on eventually to make some pretty legit and well-respected movies. There were clearly reasons why at least one of them didn't want this one posted online any more.

2 Reasons to See It

1. It's only 7 minutes long, so not much of a time commitment.
2. This was shortly after he was 'fired' from Ally McBeal, and watching him slum it in this thing is a sharp reminder of how monumental his big comeback actually was.

Overall

To be honest, you're not missing much.

If You Like It

You might also like Eros (2005), Whatever We Do (2003), applying to film school

Photos