Before we begin this review, we want to mention that we just saw this piece as a double feature along with I Want to Forget, and the first thing that popped into our minds was how impressive filmmaker Tristan Wauchope is when it comes to exploring human emotions. While I Want to Forget succeeded in exploring grief and regret, With You Til the End excels in exploring fear and angst about things way beyond our control… and that is something a lot of us can relate to right now.
With You Til the End follows a young couple whose future is jeopardized when the United States is under the menace of a war conflict. People are freaking out and everyone is trying to run away, but it’s too late. The war is here… and there is no safe place. All we can do is stay with the ones we love and try to survive.
Quite honestly, this was a very anxiety-inducing film. We mean this in a good way as that’s the film’s goal. We feel what its protagonists, Becca and Chris, are going through right from the opening moments, especially because this is a depressingly real scenario. It’s something that could happen and that is already happening in some other countries. The world is crazy scary right now, and it’s so incredibly frustrating to realize how our plans and hopes are meaningless and how little we can do about it. It’s depressing… and this is perfectly explored and shown through Becca’s character, a girl who always wanted to live in the present while her boyfriend, Chris, had his mind in the future, and that is facing the fact that neither the present nor the future is promised. Regardless of Chris’ efforts to convince her that they can run away and that things will be fine eventually, Becca’s depression and angst have overpowered her – and, again, this is something so easy to relate to.
That’s not to say that this film is all about despair and surrendering to the darkness of times. Most unexpectedly, Wauchope finds a solution so Becca and Chris can see things eye to eye and move on. As usual, we don’t want to give away anything! But there is a surprising twist that forces these two characters to leave aside their own issues and concerns to work together and make them understand that, whatever happens, they still have each other and that this is enough to confront the darkest times.
As with Wauchope’s other films, the way he manages to create such a powerful story in such a short amount of time is impressive. With You Til the End lasts around ten minutes yet all of its characters are so well-developed and the emotions are so real that we feel like we have just seen a feature film. Wauchope’s direction is very confident (even more so than with I Want to Forget) and the cast is greatly committed. Both Manda Gonzáles and Keon Gaynor (our Becca and Chris, respectively) are incredibly convincing. Gonzáles avoids cliches about depression or angst and gives a raw performance, while Gaynor provides her (and the film) with a contrastive calm and hope that is tested more than once. And we also need to mention Alex Arevalo in the role of Wilbur, whose short appearance creates one of the most powerful scenes in the film.
Production-wise, cinematography and editing work out great, while the few visual effects are solid. The sound is a bit off at points, but we get to understand what the characters are saying.
All in all, this is a remarkable effort and we hope to see more of Wauchope’s works.
Director’s Biography: Tristan Wauchope
Tristan Wauchope is an independent film writer/director from South Florida, with Jamaican and Cuban heritage. His work focuses on exploring emotional and philosophical themes, often challenging traditional genre boundaries to create unique and thought-provoking stories.
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