Speaking as an author who is constantly thinking up new ideas for novels, injecting his own sentiments in to the psyches of his characters, and has known what a struggle it can be to muster up an idea for a new story at the demand of an editor or a publisher, I found “Between the Blinds” not only a testament to the fragility and beauty of human emotions but to the power of the creative process and how absolutely tumultuous it can be. For any self-respecting writer, they will be able to relate completely with our protagonist, a writer who is given only a few hours to complete a new manuscripts and angrily struggles to concoct a new idea.
Staying true to that old adage of writing what one knows, he observes random passersby between his blinds across the park and relates it to his hobby as a puppeteer and becomes a basic god in his own mind orchestrating and composing situations that are heartwarming, heartbreaking, and hilarious. Daniel Brown while positing the short to be a demonstration of the power of emotions also manages to create an inadvertent silent film, one that stimulates through the power of its incredible score and top notch performances from the entire cast who have no speaking parts and instead must emote through the classic methods of their eyes and expressions.
Brown gets unique by painting his subjects as living marionettes as the writers stands in his room pulling the strings and the ideas he conceives are breathtaking and compelling all at once. With a fantasy-like gloss added, “Between the Blinds” is a journey in through the mind of the struggling writer where fantasy and reality is always blurred, and every situation is always questionable through their eyes and Brown is never afraid to test his audiences perception of human interaction first setting up a scenario between two strangers on a park bench allowing us to create our own perspective, and then throwing it to the protagonist who manages to write some truly interesting outlines for potential stories.
All at once a stimulating, thought provoking and entertaining short film, Daniel Brown and his writing team are able to conceive a masterful view at the writing process, and I was stunned from minute one. I’d be so bold as to call “Between the Blinds” a masterpiece, since it works on levels as a testament to the intensity of the creative process for struggling writers, a demonstration of the nature of human emotions and interaction with words that often go unsaid, and an experiment in orchestrating a compelling silent film for an unsuspecting viewing audience.