Indie Film Podcast Review: My Submission

An actress spends an entire night recording and submitting self tapes for a film project.

Written by Chuck Norton.

My Submission: Trend Setter or Tedious?

Uniqueness is one of the most important and rarest qualities found in art. A unique presentation can lead to paradigm shifts and an explosion of copy cats happily frolicing inside the recently extended artistic boundary. However, uniqueness isn’t always good. For every wonderfully engrossing Hitchcockian scene in a thriller you can find an equally unique and disappointing Wiseauian scene in an unrealistic drama. When I finished watching Cody Clarke’s My Submission, I found myself trying to categorize this feature film as either uniquely innovative or upsettingly awkward. After some thought, I realized that My Submission doesn’t fall into just one of those categories. It falls into both (and sometimes neither). Let me expand.

I was surprised by how well new ideas were being presented. The endless submissions felt logical, and the execution was hilarious. 

My Submission is a unique idea. The film itself is the compilation of “self-tape” auditions sent in by Marissa Peterson (played by Allison Sonson). Anyone familiar with the virtual audition process will likely find the beginning of the film pretty damn funny. While in a rush, we’ve all had the experience of quickly emailing attachments that don’t meet the requirements set forth by the requesting party. At the beginning of the film Marissa finds herself in a bit of a bind. Her first self-tape was mis-framed. Her second self-tape didn’t include a slate. Her third self-tape lacked her actual performance of the audition piece. Marissa articulately and hilariously explains her missteps in each subsequent video, and as her audition degrades further and further, I found myself laughing out loud at each virtual faceplant. I was impressed with every new submission tape, and at the 10 minute mark, I was surprised by how well new ideas were being presented. The endless submissions felt logical, and the execution was hilarious. 

It’s important to keep in mind that this is a 98 minute movie. How long can this unique idea keep the audience’s attention? For me, it wasn’t the full 98 minutes. Around 20 minutes in, the film becomes meta as Marissa, in a last-ditch effort to save her audition, decides to lean into the endless audition process and create a unique piece of art. Rather than cut her losses, she sends another tape sharing her idea of making these tapes a series that would, together, add up to the length of a feature film. This is when Marissa begins her journey of self-discovery. Allison’s portrayal of a vulnerable actress is captivating. She continues to impress as her character devolves and evolves in each successive static shot. However, the material itself begins to feel less genuine after writer/director Cody Clarke makes the film's intent known to the audience, presented as a 4 minute soliloquy. There are still moments of genuineness throughout the film, but some scenes, such as the 6 minute reading of a sexually explicit poem, stick out as solipsistic and obvious attempts at profundity. 

Indie Film Podcast Recommendation: Rent this film!

My Submission is an ambitiously unambitious film. What it lacks in creative shot design, beautiful scenery, and impressive musical scoring (Cody Clarke claims a $50 budget for this feature), it makes up for in uniqueness. I would have preferred this film be a short, rather than a feature. Marissa’s journey of self-discovery didn’t captivate me. However, I thought the beginning of the film and the initial plot contained in the first handful of self-tapes were hysterical. This is why I give My Submission a solid recommendation of “Rent.” Fortunately, Cody Clarke has made this film available for purchase at a price typically reserved for a digital rental. If you’re a fan of avant garde film ideas or just a filmmaker that wants to see how minimalist you can get with a feature length film, you should definitely watch this movie. It’s a lesson in austerity and will give you ideas about what works and what doesn’t.

My Submission is available for purchase from Kill The Lion Films.