Reviewed by Jon Barton

The wager stands as thus: ask anyone in the community who Aaron Haynes is and we'll all nod and smile. Anyone who doesn't is liable to be jealous or envious. But sadly, Haynes is known among the most common circles to be 'The Vlarion guy'. A shame really, sure Vlarion's a hugely visual and potent epic and work to be proud of, but living with a label is difficult to shake off. And that's why I welcome with gratitude and in open arms Aaron's new film. Pamela: a movie that intelligently comments on the society woven from 3dmm and Aaron's stability as one of the most intelligent and capable directors around. Pamela not only marks new ground for Haynes but is also one of the few films to accurately and plausibly emphasise the community's preference of genre when it comes to making movies. It's also the only movie to do this well in recent times, and to add the icing on the cake Aaron utilises his own brand of comedy to create an absolutely hilarious piece.

Pamela, taking inspiration from Grim Fandango and an unfinished Kyle Magocs film to create an authentic noir feel, revolves around a Detective on a homicide case, driven by his intentions to find the murderer of the young woman. But in perfect comic contrast to noir, Aaron plays it for laughs, the tight script proving a constant source of humour. Coupled with the visuals makes it all the more pant-wettingly funny (see the movie for the in-joke I inserted here), and consequently Pamela is far more enjoyable than what it could have been as it's basic synopsis is thin. Aaron enjoys directing Pamela for these reasons because, for all the right ones, he's given valuable freedom. In the Vlarions, Aaron was so driven by telling the story and covering all plot details, while at the same time demonstrating only limited leverage and understanding of 3dmm in the early days of his career, that his independence stretched only as far as the form itself. While in Redux, he was blessed both with the expansion and a far greater, more technically advanced understanding of 3dmm to tell the story, boundaries remained. Direction had to be immaculately timed to match the score and crucially had to stylistically come together with Goro's co-direction so as to make the experience even and well-rounded. A dream project maybe, but working so close to a deadline gives cause for a sense of repressed imagination. This time though, Aaron is his own man, and is clearly the better filmmaker for it. The script of his own creation, the shots and design of his own timing and the humour of his own brand. Thus he has longer to tell the story and in his good time, making Pamela a much longer and slower affair which ultimately makes for relaxing and compelling viewing. Where most directors may take their leave of hard work at such a pivotal point in their career, Aaron never lets up. Pamela is every bit as visually blinding as his most recent work, keeping the shots fresh and the content entertaining. Granted most of this stems from the comedy involved, but again that credit can also be given to him, writing a very funny movie revolving around a basic but incredibly interesting premise. It's well-observed too, guaranteed you'll find yourself agreeing with the conclusion of the film. This also makes room for Aaron to have a little fun of his own in the only way its known how. To say anything about this would be an immediate spoiler, at least anything beyond the detective's discovery.

What is most striking about Pamela is that its style and form is a relatively new discovery. Aaron shows impeccable competence as a comedian, matching this with some very well-placed shots and angles to compliment my on-going Zap Brannigan inspired commentary. Not only this but he also shows a willingness to take the direction to new territory, thanks to the expansion pack and Haynes himself, who proves he knows exactly what he is doing on a technical level. The skill in terms of cuts, mise en scene and timing are all apparent, but instead of serving any specific purpose this adds to the movie's quality. It is thanks to Haynes' filmmaking that Pamela is solidly entertaining and not just the three star shambles it could have been. Everything in the film serves the purpose to emphasise the message and more importantly, the humour: Indeed this is some of the best I've seen since Sgt. Steve. Unlike that film though, Pamela had me laughing due to the nature of it all. It's not crude, it's free of innuendo, not a shred of bias or targeting in any way. Pamela is just downright silly. But what you find funny is actually credibly comic. In other words, the events may make you chuckle but are not completely ridiculous, rather they are silly but impeccably observed mannerisms based on the serious side of film noir, poking fun throughout. Haynes is wise to do this because it means those who enjoy film noir are likely to find this as amusing as everyone else if not moreso. There is a passion behind the comedy; Aaron cares about film noir and consequently it is from a fan's eyeview that we are obliged to cack our pants. This is made all the more powerful because the ending isn't necessarily as funny, the twist explaining away the entire film and quite a bit of the culture our community has created. It's all very clever and all in good fun, which ultimately makes Pamela that much more entertaining. It's a movie to have a laugh with involving an issue that we should stop and consider. With that in mind, Pamela is very much the thinking man's Sgt. Steve. Ideas lead the comedy, nothing is more important.

Sadly, Pamela doesn't come wrapped in critic-proof tinfoil. There are some ghosts in the ingenious machine. Sometimes I wish Aaron had spent more time with other characters, to develop them and stem further comedy in the same way the Detective does. The problem being here is that the Detective is brilliant, so carefully thought out and nurtured as a character that it feels like a missed opportunity that he remains the only one. True the focus of the story had to remain on him, but as far as the other characters are involved (which truth be told isn't very far) they pose little more than to provide expository support. Aaron has done well to maintain the focus where relevant but with a little careful consideration the same effect could have been achieved with more characters and thus more time to wise-crack. This wouldn't have done Pamela any harm whatsoever. But then again, the lack of characters in the movie hasn't done any harm either, so who am I to complain. In all fairness, Aaron's reasons are perfectly good ones so this quibble can easily be thrown aside. Other than this, the only other point I'd raise is that on occasion, the film focuses more on the comedy than the message Aaron is getting to, but this isn't a criticism as much as it is an observation. There's very little about Pamela I'd change from a director's point of view, which makes my job of pointing out weakness very difficult as Pamela boasts few.

Saying any more than I already have really would give the film away, but my advice is to enjoy every joke, lap up every line and take on board the message of the film, because Pamela isn't simply about the issue but also expresses an opinion. Comedies with opinions don't come around often, especially well constructed ones with a decent length, a class-act director and really lovable characters. If you're anything like me you will find Pamela an absolute riot. And no argument can be made from being biased. Pamela is best viewed trying to forget that it was Aaron, legend that he is, that made it. Feel free to give him fellatio later. Pamela is consistently entertaining, wildly accurate and is set to be a surefire classic. It's daring, it's bold, it's stupid. A departure it may sound but Aaron has a gift for it, and he deserves full credit. For many more reasons than it being the funniest film you'll see this year.

10/10