Method, a film made by Darya Amirshahi during the COVID-19 lockdown, is a reaffirming labor of love born out of pandemic angst. One would be hard-pressed to watch this young visionary’s first endeavor into low-budget feature filmmaking and not feel tempted to immediately pick up a camera and start making a movie of their own.
The film follows Amy Salvio (played by the eccentric Rebecca Lachmansingh in her feature film debut) as she attempts to pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Unsure of her future due to the longevity of the pandemic, Amy befriends Lydia Sink (Jacquelyn Yushkov, also a fantastic newcomer), a neighborhood girl and aspiring writer who helps her on her journey towards making her dreams a reality.
Lachmansingh and Yushkov both shine in their first film roles, playing off of each other in demanding dialogue scenes that move at a breakneck pace. Lachmansingh is also tasked with acting alongside herself occasionally, playing her own conscience in scenes of internal debate. It’s quite the undertaking, but Lachmansingh makes it look easy. The story, conceived by Amirshahi in two days before being pitched to his co-writer Matthew Choi, is in many ways a reflection of the filmmaker’s own quarantine experience.
Conceived when he was sick with COVID in April of 2021, the production moved quickly over the next three months before it began shooting for eleven days in July. Now, with the incredible turnaround time of under a year since production, it is available for anyone to view. It is the product of a creative mind frustrated by having to stay in one place for so long. Just like his lead Amy, Amirshahi was itching to let the world know what he had up his sleeve.
Method is well worth a watch, but the real thing to look out for here is the trajectory of Amirshahi’s career from this point on, not to mention the careers of the performers in this film. If the group can do this much with such a small budget and a lot of passion, there’s no telling where these young artists’ careers may go. Method would make a great screening for a media library program showcasing young talent or low-budget filmmaking.