'Rhinoceros Eyes'

Last night at the Cumberland there was a special screening of 'Rhinoceros Eyes', a film written and directed by Torontonian Aaron Woodley. 'Rhinoceros Eyes' is the story of Chep (Michael Pitt), an awkward recluse who lives and works in a cluttered prop house. Chep is the only one who can make sense of the cavernous maze of kitsch and it is the only place outside of a movie theatre that makes sense to him. His quiet life is disturbed however when he falls for an art director (Paige Turco) with peculiar requests and Chep risks everything to find what she needs.

The movie has a great cast and a good story, but the real delight is the visuals. Veronica Verkley is credited with creating the animated characters that come to life from the bits and pieces of the prop house floor, and kudos to her for the cool but creepy results. Also, Chep wears a Halloween mask for parts of the film and it was expertly chosen. Between the plastic expression and Pitt’s body language, nothing of the character is lost even though we can’t see his face.

Unfortunately the climax is expected and the consequent character growth is abrupt, but as a whole the movie is still well-worth the darkly comic journey. The scenes with the prop house owner and his two drinking buddies are great comic relief and are well-played by Matt Servitto, James Allodi and Victor Ertmanis. It was added fun spotting Toronto locales like Dragon Lady Comics in the background, though I never did figure out what the real location of the prop house was.

For me, 'Rhinoceros Eyes' was about finding your way out into the world and it’s great that this is another small film that, after a few years in distribution limbo, has done just that. 'Rhinoceros Eyes' opens in Toronto Friday March 10^th at Canada Square.

Quick Links
'Rhinoceros Eyes' Official Site
Aaron Woodley’s Official Site

Get In-Depth
Article 'Object Lesson' in Eye Weekly