In 2001, London filmmaker Marc Isaacs set up his camera in a London commissioned apartment building and began filming its inhabitants.
It all starts as you’d expect: with awkward glances, uncomfortable laughs, and a few drunken slurs. Nobody questions Isaac’s presence. Nobody seems to care.
As the days go on, that starts to change. Slowly but surely, the residents begin to form relationships with the mostly-silent man behind the lens, leading to some very funny and real moments that expand to enlighten the viewers on life in the high rise, and those who call it home.
What makes Lift so outstanding is Isaacs’ pacing. In the beginning, we are introduced to a cast of eccentric characters who are progressively made whole as they share more of their stories. It’s a powerful reminder that people are not just traits, or quirks, or issues, they are a whole universe unto themselves, and what we see is just a fragment of what exists.
The film has no real ending, but why should there be one?
For more of Marc Isaac’s work, visit his website, www.marcisaacsfilms.com