Straightaway, Quinn Armstrong’s “Survival Skills” has you questioning, should I be laughing? Mother of Movies isn’t entirely sure if the premise of this wonderfully dark and twisted film will sit well with everyone. However, for those who can handle it, rest assured this is a movie you must see.
If you remember the 80s, you may recall sitting through a training video or two. Many of these videos featured individuals always adhering to a protocol. Jim used to be the epitome of the perfect trainee in a perfectly crafted storyline. There’s even a narrator with actor Stacey Keach’s smooth voice. We, the audience, are introduced to Jim, a fresh-faced cadet embarking on his first day as a police officer with great enthusiasm. He’s like a living cardboard cutout. Better yet, it’s as if Jim has been plucked out of a training video and placed lovingly into the real world.
Jim is the type of happy-go-lucky character you might see in films like “The Truman Show.” Innocent and with a positive outlook on anything he tries his hand at. Jim (played by Vayu O’Donnell) has a wife who smiles a lot. She makes jams and wears a sundress while she waits for Jim to return home from work. The storyline tip-toes through the dot points of official police day-to-day scenarios. The narrator tells us that Jim is doing everything right. Jim is happy.
How to Brush Up On Your Survival Skills
For most of the 89-minute run-time, Survival Skills is chuckle-worthy. Jim’s ability to cite his recent training examples and the narrative commending his responses makes it often sarcastically funny. The humor is in direct conflict with the themes being addressed. This title strikes the perfect balance of making fun of serious issues.
Jim’s first call-out is to a domestic dispute. As Jim and his partner interview, the family, standards, and procedures are flashed in between the narrator. Jim knows the best place to stand, how to separate the parties, and the best way to diffuse the situation into a resolution. All of it is irrelevant once on the scene. Afterward, instead of going by the book, Jim is confused. The perfect callout doesn’t feel so perfect. His attending officer, tells him there is nothing they can do. Jim is conflicted.
Survival Skills is a difficult film to capture the essence of, but the impact of Jim’s destruction will take you on a roller coaster of emotion. For all intents and purposes, Jim drives the story along and is brilliant while doing so. The film shows Jim’s bright eyes and bushy tail slowly getting beaten down. The narrator sticks to the script the entire time further underpinning the hopelessness of people on the front line or those in a position to try and do good. It consistently shows the systems in place to help those who need it but that they seldom succeed in doing so.
Survival Training Mode
Jim is destined to triumph – With utmost certainty, you long for Jim’s resounding victory, envisioning him emerging as the ultimate hero. However, let us acknowledge that not everyone can fulfill their aspirations of embodying heroism. In the face of adversity, Jim shines like an unwavering beacon of hope, fearlessly battling against the encompassing darkness. Though Jim’s endeavors within the confines of the law might not yield the desired results, his unwavering determination remains unscathed. Jim embodies a benevolent soul, always seeking to aid others. But what transpires when one has nothing left to give? When everything hangs in the balance?
Every performer who graces the screen delivers an exceptional portrayal. The clever utilization of real-life footage, intertwined with the worst aspects of human nature, gradually erodes the viewer’s defenses. “Survival Skills” possesses the aptitude to elicit genuine smiles and uncontrollable laughter, even when one knows they shouldn’t. As the narrative subtly applies mounting pressure, it eventually dawns on you that your smiles have been replaced by a somber realization.
Movies About Survival
Every year I find a Festival title that stabs me in the heart and fills me with feelings that stay. Last year it was Dean Kapsalis and his story about Holly in The Swerve. The best movie of 2020 is Quinn Armstrong’s “Survival Skills”.
I give Survival Skills
5 Shine bright like a diamond, Jim out of 5
- Writer and director Quinn Armstrong
- Survival Skills movie is by Cranked Up Films for distribution. The drama and the comedy-laden film are available to watch on-demand from December 4th, 2020.
- The Survival SKills drama movie starring: Stacey Keach, Vayu O’Donnell, Spencer Garrett, Erika Kreutz (The Handmaid’s Tale), Tyra Colar (The Mentalist), Emily Chisholm, and Madeline Anderson (Simple Creature.)
- Producers Michael Orion Downing | Colin West.
- Distribution: Cranked Up Films
- The film was screened at the 2020 Virtual Fantasia Festival.
- Mother of Movies interviewed Vayu O’Donnell, check out that here.
