The Tribeca comedy-drama short film, Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir), is an interesting piece of filmmaking. Running at roughly ten minutes, the short film chronicles Stian (Simen Glømmen Bostad) arriving late to Nina’s (Nina Elisabeth Gjerstad) housewarming party. The catch here is that he has brought an entire choir that he met on the way with him. Nina is hesitant to let them in, yet Stian and the choir are very eager to join the party. Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir) is edited and directed by Håkon Anton Olavsen. The filmmaker also co-wrote the short with Sunniva Kviteberg.
Narratively, there’s not a whole lot more to it. Nina, Stien, and the rest of the choir have varying conversations. Topics range from Nina’s cat to different choir members’ vocal ranges. However, the film is never interested in these characters as individuals or in their wants, needs, or desires. It’s more concerned with the feeling of the situation.
Creating a Feeling
It’s an awkward situation, but a surprisingly beautiful one. Cinematographer Kristoffer Engholm Aabo does a great job capturing the feeling of a home movie in this. From the angles he uses to the grainy look of it, it helps make the situation feel like something that actually happened. Additionally, all the actors feel very naturalistic in their performances. It’s hard to single out any one character or actor as the Tribeca film never spends too much time on any one person. It puts the audience in the shoes of someone just stumbling upon this gathering, giving viewers just enough to understand the broad strokes of it all, but never enough to truly know what’s happening.
Getting back to the plot, ultimately Nina decides not to let Stian and the Choir in after her cat almost gets let out of the building. Yet, before they leave, they decide to perform Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek”. It’s a great performance and a strong note to end the film on. It speaks a lot to the uncertainty we face when encountering unusual situations. But if we are willing to open ourselves up to new situations, we can find true beauty in the world.
However, while all this is enjoyable and worth pondering, the film itself is not that engaging. Without a strong sense of character or stakes, it’s a challenge to care about what’s on screen. Some of that is just the nature of short films, which can only do so much in their brief time. A lot of them focus on feeling over ethos, but something is just missing here. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly; maybe, slice-of-life cinema is just more challenging to get into.
The Verdict on Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir)
Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir) is great at capturing the feeling of an awkward but endearing situation. However, as an engaging film, it’s a bit harder to recommend. It’s not a difficult watch by any means, and there’s quite a bit to enjoy, but it’s dependent entirely on whether you, as a viewer, can get on board with its tone.
Score: 2.5/5
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