This could have been an efficient short movie. There are some strong ideas and themes. The main plot about the effect of a stranger entering the life of a sad middle-aged couple is good. This odd man, Blake, is a character with a lot of potential and so is the husband played by the great actor Chris Langham. To some extent, the wife could have been more richly constructed; here she is mainly irritating, cold-hearted and lifeless. She does look more human in the interviews, though.

On the technical side, one must be understanding ... the music is sometime intrusive, the cuts raw and clumsy, etc. The tone - usually flat - and pace of the movie are disturbing. If this is a kind of artistic trait, I do think that one should have more clues of how to perceive some elements. I have to say that the second part of the family - often presented in a 'light' mood, pseudo-young and dynamic, with a sort of 'Eels-feeling' music and nervous camera work - is nonsensical and mainly uninteresting. You just don't care about that side of the story and it scuppers the narrative. The daughters are two unfriendly and undercooked characters (and I wasn't convinced by the actors' work either). There is no explanation about why they act like ungrateful and cold children (they share this with their mother, but that's not enough). No clues either about why Tim keeps going to his therapy sessions led by a barefoot guy bored to death who kills time by playing the psychologist. This whole character seemed out of place, and I felt as if I missed the reason he was there altogether. He calls his patient 'an idiot', etc. His only function is of having leaked the story to the press, but there wasn't even the need to create a character for that. It ends up as a distracting and poor adding to the movie. Some drawing shoots add originality to the narrative, while the disappeared lady that we keep seeing roaming in the woods feels forced and unnecessary. Moreover, it shows the lack of money by using a sort of 'iMovie' filter on every take that concerns this character.

To sum up, I see this movie as a UFO wreckage with good intention, an overall decent cast with some talented actors and a lovely message at its core. I would say that it is about relationships and their evolution. It is also about honesty and how society, and the press, can approach a situation with a cold and judgemental eye that misses the point completely.

Rotten tomatoes are so unreliable that this film has a 100% rating. I guess all those 7 reviews are from either the film crew or they are paid. This is such a boring and pathetic movie. I don't understand what they really intend by making this film. Totally wasted my 90 minutes.

Black Pond is not normal. It is odd. It is patchy. It is padded-out with an unnecessary but not unamusing performance from Simon Amstell. It is sometimes confusing and incoherent. It is also hilarious and memorable and brilliantly-performed. Chris Langham (yes, that Chris Langham) is on top form: "It's sheer lunacy to eat a banana at this time of night." There are so many great bits: the "I love you - both of you" in the car. The "phenomenal tw*t" line. Don't miss it. It's excellent. Yes, it feels overlong and underdone, somehow - it might have been better as a short, but even so, there is more imagination and wit on display than in most "quality" movies that stink up the multiplex on a regular basis.