Written and Directed by Noel David Taylor
Starring Noel David Taylor, Ben Babbitt, and Danny Lane
Runtime: 79 Min.
Streaming via Arrow Player starting August 2

by Miguel Alejandro Marquez, Staff Writer

Man Under Table is a micro-micro-budget feature film by Noel David Taylor, this being his freshman directorial effort, and his first time playing the lead character in a feature. The film follows the life of a young man making his way through the bland and disappointing world of filmmaking. Alongside trying to survive through the smoke-filled streets, he also tries to make a movie in a dystopian, surreal, and irrational Los Angeles. It is, for the lack of better words, a fever dream (This critic hates the term “fever dream”, it reminds him of nights being sick and wanting God to kill him). A fever dream for those who want to pursue the desperate world of filmmaking. It’s a film about filmmaking, that addresses absolutely nothing, yet everything about filmmaking.

Man Under Table has a unique voice and an interesting way of showing the multiple sides of the filmmaking process, but is held down by some of the decisions of its young director. Some of the editing and cinematography choices can be jarring at times, having no real rhyme or reason to their existences. The very beginning scene, in which two characters are talking in a bathroom, is both simultaneously competent, and incompetent at the same time. We get a Kubrician exchange between two people within the bathroom, but the scene is made in such a way that it is hard to watch, from random camera movements to terrible acting. Yes, the film is great in presenting its unique view of the world, but some of the choices in terms of its presentation, are quite pedestrian and more in line with a high schooler’s interpretation of Frederico Fellini.

The biggest complaint that can be made with this film is how boring it is. The staleness by its lack of story is egregious at points. Why does most of this movie happen? This critic doesn’t know. Maybe there is a deeper meaning for why the protagonist constantly enters hallucination after hallucination, but it will take a Youtube analysis video and three Pabst Blue Ribbons for it to make sense, or for a person to care. The film references multitudes of times that it is a film about nothing, to the point where the main character is shaking a person, wanting for him to repeat his name. He has no name, and this film has no direction. It tries to break the wheel of storytelling and meta-fiction, but builds its own reason for not being liked.

This film reminds me of the work of other LA-based, independent, self-funded filmmakers, like Wendy McColm (Birds Without Feathers), and Rick Alverson (The Mountain, and The Comedy). It is the modern man’s Eraserhead, a film about being by yourself, and having your anxieties bubbling to the surface. A movie that tries to pinpoint what is wrong with modern Hollywood and LA culture, but does so in front of the backdrop of a bedsheet. Just replace Jack Nance’s crazy haired persona, with an antagonistic, disgruntled, twenty-something trying to make a name for himself, and make it within the confines of a Los Angeles apartment.

Characters talk in a dream-like fashion, cardboard cutouts play extras, the bottom of the screen is comprised of fake advertisements, and green screen effects replace actual environments. This film leans into the fact that it has no money. It doesn’t try to pretend that it isn’t a film made by a couple of people in front of a bedsheet, but the film did test this critic’s patience. This film will make you as irritated and jumpy as the lead character. Yes, the film does acknowledge the fact that it is just “some random scenes of a guy doing stuff”, but it is still boring. As previously stated in past reviews, boring can be okay, as long as it has a point. Its point was to show Hollywood as it is, which can be intriguing, or one note, depending on the direction. It was one note. It’s a movie with a great set-up of an idea, but lacked the drive to make itself enjoyable. It’s a movie that hates the fact that it exists, but also revels in its own lack of purpose.

This film, given the proper marketing and attention, will be a fan favorite of the midnight movie circuit. Anywhere else, this film will be hated and despised. This critic wishes Noel David Taylor the best of luck, and wants to thank him for his efforts in providing unique, and shockingly different content.

Watch Man Under Table if you enjoy irrationality, just know that you’ll only enjoy it bits and pieces at a time.