'Say Less' Review: A Tense Teen Drama Feature From Director Michael Kellman

Outside the Spotlight
3 hours ago
4 min read

Official poster for Michael Kellman's 'Say Less.' — Official poster for **Michael Kellman's** *Say Less.*

Say Less was both a child of necessity and a labor of love. It's a movie about growing up, about the weight of teenage angst, family, loneliness, and about seeing and being seen. I hope only that it makes people laugh and feel something.

- Michael Kellman (writer/director)

Jenny Lange and Matt Linton play brother and sister Cassie and Max in Michael Kellman's 'Say Less.' — **Jenny Lange** and **Matt Linton** as brother and sister Cassie and Max

By debuting writer and director Michael Kellman with his life savings, Say Less opens like a fairly typical teen drama: the parents leave town and the kids are left to fend for themselves. It quickly becomes evident, however, that something more is afoot.

Jenny Lange and Matt Linton are Cassie and Max, a bickering brother-sister duo both looking to take advantage of their parents’ mansion to house their individual- well, "parentless activities"- with their respective partners of the opposite sex. For Max, it’s his girlfriend Sky (played by Genny Wick, and for Cassie, it’s Blake (Taylor Garriga)- a boy she’s been crushing on and has invited over to work on their "chemistry assignment." When he fails to promptly respond to her invite however, she invites the less popular, kinda dorky but still pretty cool (in a Ned Leeds kind of way), Oliver, played by Manny Spero. With all four of them in the house together, with different motives and clashing personalities, let the chaos ensue.

Jenny Lange, Matt Linton, Genny Wick and Manny Spero play four dysunctional teens in Michael Kellman's 'Say Less.' — The four young actors bounce off each other very well.

When it comes to those clashing personalities, the four young actors bounce off each other very well. The whole affair feels like you are genuinely watching a dysfunctional group of teens trying to have a good time, one-up each other, while also trying to stop everything from falling apart. Their quartet has a very natural chemistry, and their everyday- even mundane- teen conversations make their interactions feel authentic. They argue, they mess up, they slip up, things get awkward- it’s all just very human.

As the night progresses, the conversations become a little darker and more sensitive, as you can’t help but feel a sense of unease: an ominous dread as you await a fateful moment that could change everything. The build-up feels like that of a slasher movie. The teens laugh, drink, and smoke as you wait for it all to go wrong, wondering what it’s all leading to.

Philip Casnoff and Roxanne Hart play Cassie and Max's parents in Michael Kellman's 'Say Less.' — **Philip Casnoff** and **Roxanne Hart** play Cassie and **Max's parents.**

Say Less plays out with a seamless blend of genres, just as life itself does- some moments are funny, some are sad, some cringy, some embarrassing, some downright weird. To go into detail about it all would be doing not only the film but the viewer a disservice. Go into it blind, go into it anxious, go into it feeling like you’re a part of it all. That feeling that something could go wrong certainly manifests- but probably not in the ways you expect. This is a highly dysfunctional series of events surrounding a group of very flawed people.

Say Less bounces around the unsteady nature of our teenage years and existence in general. It tackles complex themes like anxiety, loneliness, depression, self-image, and self-sabotage, as well as the complexity of sibling relationships. Not only the bickering and pettiness, but also the love and union. Furthermore, it looks at how our behaviors and patterns can be influenced by the negative traits of our parents (here played by Philip Casnoff and Roxanne Hart), and how we can strive to be better.

Jenny Lange as an emotional Cassie in Michael Kellman's 'Say Less.' — *Say Less* is a film that touches on many deep themes.

This is not a film of story; it’s a film of feeling. A film of love, understanding, forgiveness, and compassion; and of being better. It’s also about the realities of your decisions, of those you hurt, but also reassurance that maybe things aren’t ruined forever.

I finished this film with reflection on my mind- something to think about, just as great art should do. The film’s title is almost reflective of its message. We don’t always need to say everything, to see everything, or to know everything to fully grasp it. For a film titled Say Less, it actually says quite a lot.

🏆 Say Less won the audience award at the Cinequest Film Festival.

Watch the film on Amazon, Google Play and Apple TV.

(Links will be updated once they become available!)

About the filmmaker

Behind the scenes image of writer/director of 'Say Less', Michael Kellman. — Writer/director of *Say Less,* **Michael Kellman.**

Michael Kellman has loved film and television all his life. Los Angeles proved a good fit for him, he had a stimulating upbringing and his academic and artistic pursuits led him to Dartmouth College. There, among other things, he was the president of his improvisational comedy group.

In his spare time he watches movies, does improv and sketch comedy, surfs, and makes films.

www.imdb.com/name/nm5511017/