Two young individuals, a boy (Jose Medina) and a girl (Ava Grace), were in love–but they have since gone through a breakup, and they now struggle to come to terms with their current circumstances. They are forced to ask one another What’s Stopping You? as they converse, but the question is never truly answered. This is the plot of an underground writer’s (Jordy Antonio) new story–and it’s personal to him. As he writes his story, he connects with it, seemingly feeling every word on the page.
Antonio (also the writer and director of What’s Stopping You?) creates a very visceral film, one that feels like you can reach out and touch it. It plays with your emotions and it captures a very real feeling that viewers around the world will be able to connect with. Antonio uses the senses to ensure that sentiment comes to life in this film, and they work beautifully.
The aesthetic of What’s Stopping You? is gritty, grainy, a reflection of the tone of the film. There are two people fighting for something. On one hand they seem to be fighting for the same thing, but on the other, their personal needs seem to be what drives them. It’s a tough pill to swallow, knowing that someone you love isn’t reciprocating that love in the same fashion, and it can make life appear blurry, challenging in a new regard. The aesthetic that Antonio employs reflects this feeling, and it drives the sentiment present in What’s Stopping You? home, reaching viewers effectively.
What’s Stopping You? is full of swift, sharp transitions; they reflect the sharp, uncomfortable nature of the conversation being held by the young couple. The couple is often sharp with one another, saying things that should, and likely will, hurt the other’s feelings. Their conversation is rough around the edges, and it doesn’t appear to be something that was manufactured for film, but rather it feels incredibly real. As their conversation moves quickly and aggressively, the transitions throughout the course of What’s Stopping You? does the same thing. It’s a perfect reflection of the things happening on screen, and it allows viewers to better understand these things and better appreciate the film as a whole.
The loud, aggressive beep of a phone plays into this as well. It makes viewers feel like part of the conversation, like they, too, are struggling with the harrowing tennis match in which neither party can seem to escape. It’s incredibly apparent how Antonio planned to approach What’s Stopping You?, and the methods he uses are welcome and effective. He appeals to the senses, and he allows viewers to see and hear things that many filmmakers would typically choose to omit from their project. Sound, as always, is important, and it takes a unique form in What’s Stopping You?.
Antonio clearly has a proclivity for the senses, and he understands how to pique the interests of his viewers. He takes a simple story about a breakup and adds an additional level to the story, creating the potential to reach more viewers, and to appeal to them in different ways. What’s Stopping You? really is a simple story, and it’s one that most of us have lived at one point or another–but that simple addition, the one in which we see Antonio scripting the story on his laptop adds something to the overall film. The visceral feeling of What’s Stopping You? is exactly what the film needs, and Antonio pulls it off incredibly well.
Written & Directed by Jordy Antonio.
Starring Jose Medina, Ava Grace, & Jordy Antonio.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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