Hermercury 2023

Been a big fan of Jamie’s films since he released Gonzo last year. I loved Gonzo, it’s a very good film and it even inspired me to make my own improv film as well as another filmmaker that Jamie recommended to me who was a very clear inspiration for Gonzo, Joel Haver. He then released Dog Play Weekend which I also loved, and now we have the third film in the Gonzo trilogy, Hermercury, which I’m pretty sure is inspired by a short film Jamie made of the same title.  The cinematography in these films can be a little off putting at times, but I think Jamie’s got a very specific style that really works for him, and it’s a style I’ve grown to really like after watching all three of these now.  After seeing that a very large portion of this film is made up of Jamie doing all the voices and making his hands talk to each other I thought maybe this would be the first of the three films I didn’t like, but again it really works for him and I liked it a lot, which I think is largely to do with his editing. His voices are really funny and I found it really interesting to see Jamie play a mythological character rather than just a real person, it was really interesting seeing that same awkward character that I liked so much in the other films, but the idea of Hermes being that same awkward person. It’s funny and smart and I liked it a lot.  I felt like The hand stuff went on for a bit too long, but it is consistently funny and kept making me laugh. “Omg I forgot to take off the hat”. Also at a certain point the film became a story within a story within a story within a story within a film within a film which was quite funny.  I think it’s a really nice film about feeling out of place in the world and not knowing who you are. Going off on your own without anyone to make every decision for you is a scary thing, and I think it’s something that all 3 of these films address quite well, by the way Jamie ended this it seemed like he actually was Hermes, or that this film was the same as the film Hermes made in order to figure some stuff out about himself, which feels really personal and deep and I love it.  There was a shot of him walking that went on for a while and I didn’t fully understand why. But when the camera finally zooms out showing the whole building it was a really cool shot and a nice moment in the film.  Watching a feature film made independently and put on YouTube may be less easy to go for than to stick something randomly on from Netflix, but I think Jamie’s really talented and these films have interesting messages and I can’t wait to see what he does next so I really do recommend these films to anyone who is willing to watch them. Maybe start with Gonzo and see what you think, they are funny, they feel very real and they always get quite deep and emotional somewhere towards the end. Another great film from Jamie.  Please watch this, it has so much effort put into it and I think it really deserves your time.  7.8/10